I only played two tournaments tonight. A $4/180 on Stars and a $6.50 Bounty on UB. I played really well in both tournaments but again made one huge mistake down the stretch to bust out.
I finished 36th in the UB bounty having collected 3 bounties for a total prize of about $14 bucks... 39 places paid. I was sitting in about 10th place when i decided to get cute and had a complete meltdown....
http://www.pokerhand.org/?1976264
I've seen this line numerous times and its very rarely weakness this late in a tourny... yet i've busted against it several times, although with better hands that this one. In future i will have to hold a monster to continue.
I finished 10th in the 180.... again sitting in good chip position on a completely unnecessary hand.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?1976246
sigh... its dissappointing to look at because i know i'm better than these plays and i could've done some serious damage in both tournys.
This situation with the mono flop has also occured several times and i've busted before playing it aggressively. In future i will attempt to play more cautiously in this situation... to drive home the lesson i've reviewed some numbers in pokerstove.
Firstly i think i probably couldve reraised this hand since we're short handed but calling wasnt so bad against another big stack with position and a potentially dominated hand.... or was it?
On the flop is where i botched it completely... I've run this in poker stove against several potential hands
22+ vs. AJs = 54/46 dog
Made flush or Set = 70/30 dog
AT or TP type hands = 56/44 dog .... i might have some FE against these hands but is it worth it?
I also remember busting one tournament with a set on a mono flop that i played aggressively... so i ran those numbers also...
set vs. Made flush = 65/35 dog
set vs. 22+ = 70/30 fav
set vs. flush draw = 70/30 fav
The shove with the nut flush draw is really donkish now that i've look at it... It will only get called by hands that have me in bad shape... namely a made flush or set. With a set on a mono flop i should charge draws but still not go crazy.
Showing posts with label online poker blog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label online poker blog. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Sunday, January 20, 2008
First MTT Final Table
I made my first Final table in a real MTT saturday. It was a $5 FO with 1784 runners and i finished 3rd for $652.00. 1st paid $1868.00, it would have been great to win my first MTT final table, but i made a mistake when we were 3 handed that cost me the tourny.
I was really pleased with how i played overall. I got lucky when i had to, won most of my races, got paid off huge on some of my monsters, made some good lay downs and remained aggressive and patient.
I havent made anymore final tables in the 180s, but i've busted 19th twice now after playing relatively good poker. I'm starting to make bad plays down the stretch again that have kept me from going deep. I now find these tournaments really soft. Its easy to get down to 50 players and then its just a matter of execution. I really should be winning more of these.
Sunday was a bust although i managed to get ITM in a $12/180 turbo but busted 12th. I am not sure i will be playing many of these because they're just too fast. I was in push bot mode way before the first break. Otherwise Sunday was a dissappointment.
I decided that i would play the 100K and a $180 on Stars and two $5 FO on UB. I was running really well in all tourny's when i started to realize that i could not handle them all. Then for some reason UB started freezing my pc... i would time out of hands, only one card would show etc. etc. This has never happened before and i know my pc is fast enough because i have a 3.2GHZ processor and 1.5GB of RAM. This threw me off my game and kinda tilted me. I soon busted all tournies. I simply shouldve thrown away the UB tournaments and focus on the 100k... but i was running so well that i didnt want to let them go and it cost me.
THE DREAM
I encountered one of those dream situations that every poker player dreams about;
Blinds 4000/8000 800ante... I have 226K and i'm dealt AA in SB... Its folded to BTN with around 90K, he makes it 24k i almost shoved AI but decided to just min rr to 56K... BB with 254K then proceeds to shove AI... OMG!!!! lol GOD that was beautiful!
I was really pleased with how i played overall. I got lucky when i had to, won most of my races, got paid off huge on some of my monsters, made some good lay downs and remained aggressive and patient.
I havent made anymore final tables in the 180s, but i've busted 19th twice now after playing relatively good poker. I'm starting to make bad plays down the stretch again that have kept me from going deep. I now find these tournaments really soft. Its easy to get down to 50 players and then its just a matter of execution. I really should be winning more of these.
Sunday was a bust although i managed to get ITM in a $12/180 turbo but busted 12th. I am not sure i will be playing many of these because they're just too fast. I was in push bot mode way before the first break. Otherwise Sunday was a dissappointment.
I decided that i would play the 100K and a $180 on Stars and two $5 FO on UB. I was running really well in all tourny's when i started to realize that i could not handle them all. Then for some reason UB started freezing my pc... i would time out of hands, only one card would show etc. etc. This has never happened before and i know my pc is fast enough because i have a 3.2GHZ processor and 1.5GB of RAM. This threw me off my game and kinda tilted me. I soon busted all tournies. I simply shouldve thrown away the UB tournaments and focus on the 100k... but i was running so well that i didnt want to let them go and it cost me.
THE DREAM
I encountered one of those dream situations that every poker player dreams about;
Blinds 4000/8000 800ante... I have 226K and i'm dealt AA in SB... Its folded to BTN with around 90K, he makes it 24k i almost shoved AI but decided to just min rr to 56K... BB with 254K then proceeds to shove AI... OMG!!!! lol GOD that was beautiful!
Thursday, January 10, 2008
$4 180 Sit N Go Final Tables
I've now made two final tables in two days, finishing 7th & 8th. The level of play was astonishing. From my sample of tournaments it is normal for up to 60% to have busted by the first break. However, in one of today's tournaments 70% of players had busted by the break and i had accumulated +10k chips. I was able to make the final table in this tournament but was stuck behind a maniac who eventually busted me with a really bad call preflop.
Here are a few other hands from my other tournies
I'm happy with the way i played this hand... his preflop was really bad and then i guess he put me on AK/AQ.Players always seem to put you on AK at this level.
Trying to short stack ninja in this tourny with about 57 left i think. This has got to be the most ridiculous call i've ever seen. But it shows what these players are capable of.
I'm dissappointed that i didnt win any of the Final tables but i'm pleased that i made the final table in the first place. Thats about 8/8 times of making the FT when i made the money.
Here are a few other hands from my other tournies
I'm happy with the way i played this hand... his preflop was really bad and then i guess he put me on AK/AQ.Players always seem to put you on AK at this level.
Trying to short stack ninja in this tourny with about 57 left i think. This has got to be the most ridiculous call i've ever seen. But it shows what these players are capable of.
I'm dissappointed that i didnt win any of the Final tables but i'm pleased that i made the final table in the first place. Thats about 8/8 times of making the FT when i made the money.
Monday, January 07, 2008
Weekend Update & Junkanoo Parade
My ladyfriends sister got married on Saturday and everybody seemed to be implying that we were next. We just smiled and ignored the comments and went on like nothing was said. By the end of the night she was completely drunk and had to be helped to the car. We spent most of sunday together so i didnt get to play any tournaments until that evening. I played in a $5 FO, finished 855th and in a $10 360max entrants along with a few 180s, But didnt finish get deep in any.
This morning i got up early and decided to play a $2.20 128max headsup winner take all tourny. I finished in 20th place having won two heads up matches which were really easy. My third opponent and i were more evenly matched. I got down early and was fighting back for most of the match, finally going out with KJo vs 75o on a J75 flop. Probably should've pushed pf... meh. These are good for developing a good heads up game... i will definitely play this tournament again.
Junkanoo Parade
Each year in The Bahamas on Boxing Day morning and New Year's day morning we have a huge parade called "Junkanoo". It is similar to Carnival or Mardi Gra and is rooted in our African heritage. I thought i'd just put youtube link up to show people what its like. This one shows the costumes better than any other that i found, but the music is not the best. The music is key to junkanoo... you feel it and just have to move.
This morning i got up early and decided to play a $2.20 128max headsup winner take all tourny. I finished in 20th place having won two heads up matches which were really easy. My third opponent and i were more evenly matched. I got down early and was fighting back for most of the match, finally going out with KJo vs 75o on a J75 flop. Probably should've pushed pf... meh. These are good for developing a good heads up game... i will definitely play this tournament again.
Junkanoo Parade
Each year in The Bahamas on Boxing Day morning and New Year's day morning we have a huge parade called "Junkanoo". It is similar to Carnival or Mardi Gra and is rooted in our African heritage. I thought i'd just put youtube link up to show people what its like. This one shows the costumes better than any other that i found, but the music is not the best. The music is key to junkanoo... you feel it and just have to move.
Friday, January 04, 2008
Reading and Plans
Haven't played at all this week. But i've been hitting the forum and reading alot, Mostly 2p2 and HOH2. 2p2 is a great resource and all other forums reference it, so i rarely read any other forums although i visit several blogs.
As for poker books, i think that the definitive books on MTTs and cash games have been written. And what is not in any book that i have can be found on the forums for free, therefore i think its unlikely that i will purchase another poker book anytime in the near future.
I currently own;
poker for dummies... never read this one
play poker like a pro? by phill hellmuth
These two were my very first purchases before i'd discovered any forums or knew anything about poker... waste of money imo.
Definitive works
SuperSystem2
Theory of Poker
HOH1 & HOH2
No Limit Holdem: Theory & Practice
Other
Kill Phil 1
Phil Gordon's little green book
Thats it. I can reread several chapters in any of these books (besides the first two) and still find useful info.
I have been thinking of making some changes to the blog. During my research into PXF one thing i noticed, and it was the same when i was a member of Cardrunners, was the lack of low limit videos. When they do a low limit video it would invariably be 2/4 NL (CR) or 11R(PXF) which is still high for the average micro stakes grinder. While you can learn much from these videos i alway thought it'd also be great to actually see videos of situations that we encounter at our level.
To that end i will put up some more videos of bubbles/ITM/Final tables and whole hand histories of some of the tournaments i've played. While i cannot promise that they will be played perfectly, hopefully they can be of some use to other players who play the same levels.
I will also try to post a little more about my life. I'm not one for the social blogs and really don't like the "poker" blogs that have more personal than poker content. But i will probably add a few post here and there with personal content to keep it interesting.
As for poker books, i think that the definitive books on MTTs and cash games have been written. And what is not in any book that i have can be found on the forums for free, therefore i think its unlikely that i will purchase another poker book anytime in the near future.
I currently own;
poker for dummies... never read this one
play poker like a pro? by phill hellmuth
These two were my very first purchases before i'd discovered any forums or knew anything about poker... waste of money imo.
Definitive works
SuperSystem2
Theory of Poker
HOH1 & HOH2
No Limit Holdem: Theory & Practice
Other
Kill Phil 1
Phil Gordon's little green book
Thats it. I can reread several chapters in any of these books (besides the first two) and still find useful info.
I have been thinking of making some changes to the blog. During my research into PXF one thing i noticed, and it was the same when i was a member of Cardrunners, was the lack of low limit videos. When they do a low limit video it would invariably be 2/4 NL (CR) or 11R(PXF) which is still high for the average micro stakes grinder. While you can learn much from these videos i alway thought it'd also be great to actually see videos of situations that we encounter at our level.
To that end i will put up some more videos of bubbles/ITM/Final tables and whole hand histories of some of the tournaments i've played. While i cannot promise that they will be played perfectly, hopefully they can be of some use to other players who play the same levels.
I will also try to post a little more about my life. I'm not one for the social blogs and really don't like the "poker" blogs that have more personal than poker content. But i will probably add a few post here and there with personal content to keep it interesting.
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Island Grinder 2008
2007 was an interesting year. I went from sngs to full ring cash to 6 max back to sngs and now MTTs.I have not tried any other forms of poker besides NLHE. I've decided that i will be mainly a MTT player for now. I'm simple not up to the grind and variance of the cash games and right now it doesn't feel like i will be up to them anytime soon.
My game improved a lot in December, which was my best month since i started playing sngs again. I played 45 180sngs... bubbled 5 times and got ITM 7 times. I made the FT everytime i got in the money, finishing with 2 wins, 2 2nds, 6th, 8th & 9th for a 400% ROI.
My Bankroll now stands at $1100.00, which is more than enough for the $4/180 sngs that i currently play. However,I am not interested in just trying to grind the 180s for a monthly profit, instead i will begin preparing for and taking regular shots at large field MTTs. Of course I will still play the 180s regularly also.
I will eventually join a training site, most likely PXF. But i will not do so until Feb/March because i feel that there is still alot that i can do on my own to improve my game.
My game improved a lot in December, which was my best month since i started playing sngs again. I played 45 180sngs... bubbled 5 times and got ITM 7 times. I made the FT everytime i got in the money, finishing with 2 wins, 2 2nds, 6th, 8th & 9th for a 400% ROI.
My Bankroll now stands at $1100.00, which is more than enough for the $4/180 sngs that i currently play. However,I am not interested in just trying to grind the 180s for a monthly profit, instead i will begin preparing for and taking regular shots at large field MTTs. Of course I will still play the 180s regularly also.
I will eventually join a training site, most likely PXF. But i will not do so until Feb/March because i feel that there is still alot that i can do on my own to improve my game.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
$4/180 win
I haven't played at all this week, but have been doing some reading. I've just started reading HOH2 even though i had it since last year. Well the reading must've helped because i played two tournaments, busting 20th in one and taking down the other.
I felt i played really well in both tournaments. In the tournament that i bubbled i came back from a short stack with some really nice play, if i do say so myself. But my mistake in that tournament was not adjusting properly to my image and i got called down by a huge donk after firing three barrells on a very dangerous board. This guy could've been beat so many ways it was just crazy what he called down with. But i guess he had a read and took a stand. That left me short again and i had to push bot.
Yesterday was a good day all around. I was able to play my tournaments,get a win. And go out to a sports bar to watched Football, shot pool and karaoke with my lady friend and her sisters.
Today i wanted to play in the $5 FO that i monied last sunday which starts at
1pm but my brother just called and he needs a ride to work for 2pm, so thats out. There are 3 more tournaments that i could possibly play in;
3:30pm - - 100K guarenteed - - $11 buy-in
5:15pm - - 360 max entrants - - $16.50 buy-in
7:00pm - - 20K guarenteed - - $11 buy-in
I'm not sure what we're doing tonight but there was talk of seeing a movie lastnight. If we do, that will knock out all of these tournaments. Which will be sad because i'm feeling really good after my win yesterday. But gotta spend the quality time.
I felt i played really well in both tournaments. In the tournament that i bubbled i came back from a short stack with some really nice play, if i do say so myself. But my mistake in that tournament was not adjusting properly to my image and i got called down by a huge donk after firing three barrells on a very dangerous board. This guy could've been beat so many ways it was just crazy what he called down with. But i guess he had a read and took a stand. That left me short again and i had to push bot.
Yesterday was a good day all around. I was able to play my tournaments,get a win. And go out to a sports bar to watched Football, shot pool and karaoke with my lady friend and her sisters.
Today i wanted to play in the $5 FO that i monied last sunday which starts at
1pm but my brother just called and he needs a ride to work for 2pm, so thats out. There are 3 more tournaments that i could possibly play in;
3:30pm - - 100K guarenteed - - $11 buy-in
5:15pm - - 360 max entrants - - $16.50 buy-in
7:00pm - - 20K guarenteed - - $11 buy-in
I'm not sure what we're doing tonight but there was talk of seeing a movie lastnight. If we do, that will knock out all of these tournaments. Which will be sad because i'm feeling really good after my win yesterday. But gotta spend the quality time.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Another 2nd Place Finish
Did not play any poker Yesterday, so when i got home around 1:30am lastnight i was itching to play. Fired up some 45s and a 180. Got in the money in just 1 of the 45s but was running well in the 180.
About 15 minutes into the 2nd hour i won a big three way pot that put me in first position in the tourny. I haven't posted any hands in a long time on this blog because i usually make these entries at work. I will try to include a few hand histories in the future. Unfortunately i can not remember the exact hand right now.
I usually don't like taking the lead early in a tourny because its sometimes difficult to play out front. How aggressive should i be? The blinds are worthless compared to my stack. Its very easy to become too passive and allow others to take advantage or too aggressive and spew chips. I think i found the right mix in this tournament and was able to continue to accumulate chips while keeping my image strong which allowed me to steal with relative ease. I held the lead going into the Final Table.
My heads up was again a let down. I made two huge mistakes by again pushing weak hands when it was not necessary to do so. I will get this ironed out eventually. Tournament ended at 6am this morning... not a good idea to start so late.
About 15 minutes into the 2nd hour i won a big three way pot that put me in first position in the tourny. I haven't posted any hands in a long time on this blog because i usually make these entries at work. I will try to include a few hand histories in the future. Unfortunately i can not remember the exact hand right now.
I usually don't like taking the lead early in a tourny because its sometimes difficult to play out front. How aggressive should i be? The blinds are worthless compared to my stack. Its very easy to become too passive and allow others to take advantage or too aggressive and spew chips. I think i found the right mix in this tournament and was able to continue to accumulate chips while keeping my image strong which allowed me to steal with relative ease. I held the lead going into the Final Table.
My heads up was again a let down. I made two huge mistakes by again pushing weak hands when it was not necessary to do so. I will get this ironed out eventually. Tournament ended at 6am this morning... not a good idea to start so late.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Tilt & Mistakes
Played alot of $3/45 tourbo's lastnight and the level of play was so bad that i tilted. I usually just take my beats and continue playing but the cards these guys were showing down after get reraised pf and calling flop bets were just too crazy.
I just lost it for a minute and cursed everyone on the table and upped my aggression through the roof. I was raising and cbetting anything that moved. I quickly busted two tournaments but settled down with my aggression intact.I played 15 $3/45 tournaments, got ITM 4 times with a ROI of +200%... so that worked out well.
aggression is very important... i will make a post about it soon.
So while playing the $3/45 tournies i'd usually have at least one $4/180 tourny open. I played 3 last night, I busted early in one, got relatively deep in the 2nd and Final tabled the last one.
Unfortunately i busted 9th. I've noticed that in 2 of my last 3 final tables i've made horrible plays to bust early. It is particularly disappointing because there were some really weak opponents with huge stacks. In fact i just checked startracker and the 1st and 2nd place winners were two of the weaker opponenst at the table. I feel like i burned money. Honestly that was an all new low lastnight... after i made the play and got busted i just sat there for like 15minutes in disbelief. What a DONK!
I just lost it for a minute and cursed everyone on the table and upped my aggression through the roof. I was raising and cbetting anything that moved. I quickly busted two tournaments but settled down with my aggression intact.I played 15 $3/45 tournaments, got ITM 4 times with a ROI of +200%... so that worked out well.
aggression is very important... i will make a post about it soon.
So while playing the $3/45 tournies i'd usually have at least one $4/180 tourny open. I played 3 last night, I busted early in one, got relatively deep in the 2nd and Final tabled the last one.
Unfortunately i busted 9th. I've noticed that in 2 of my last 3 final tables i've made horrible plays to bust early. It is particularly disappointing because there were some really weak opponents with huge stacks. In fact i just checked startracker and the 1st and 2nd place winners were two of the weaker opponenst at the table. I feel like i burned money. Honestly that was an all new low lastnight... after i made the play and got busted i just sat there for like 15minutes in disbelief. What a DONK!
Friday, December 07, 2007
Update
Just finished playing another $4/180 tournament. I made it heads up with about a 4:1 chip lead and blew it.
The competition was much better in this one. I made several mistakes, and got extremely lucky on at least two occassions. But I played really well in other spots and was pleased with how i navigated several dangerous situations.
My headsup on the other hand was a colossal mess... i wouldnt say that i was out played as much as i played poorly... i think i became impatient in spots... anyway i will review the tournament and try to learn from the experience.
Good News!!
I'm now showing a profit on sharkscope!
The competition was much better in this one. I made several mistakes, and got extremely lucky on at least two occassions. But I played really well in other spots and was pleased with how i navigated several dangerous situations.
My headsup on the other hand was a colossal mess... i wouldnt say that i was out played as much as i played poorly... i think i became impatient in spots... anyway i will review the tournament and try to learn from the experience.
Good News!!
I'm now showing a profit on sharkscope!
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Videos
I promised to put up a few vids in a previous post.Since i've been crushing the 45s again lately, i've done one of my wins in those and my $4/180 sng win lastnight.
$3 45 player sng 44MB 25minutes
$4 180 SNG WIN
1st HOUR 29MB 17minutes
2nd HOUR 28MB 16minutes
3rd Hour & Final Table 28MB 15minutes
Final Table & HeadsUP play 38MB 20minutes
I think i played well in both tournaments but definitely made some mistakes. Feel free to critique them.
The videos were produced in camtasia studio 4 and will play properly in windows media player. I have another media player on my computer that played the video but without sound, so if you have that problem try windows media player 9.
$3 45 player sng 44MB 25minutes
$4 180 SNG WIN
1st HOUR 29MB 17minutes
2nd HOUR 28MB 16minutes
3rd Hour & Final Table 28MB 15minutes
Final Table & HeadsUP play 38MB 20minutes
I think i played well in both tournaments but definitely made some mistakes. Feel free to critique them.
The videos were produced in camtasia studio 4 and will play properly in windows media player. I have another media player on my computer that played the video but without sound, so if you have that problem try windows media player 9.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Paying Attention Costs Nothing
This is the title of one of Rizen's Articles from the Good Reading section on the left. He observes how many players pay a huge buy-in fee to enter a tournament and then proceed to not give it their full attention, thus leaving money on the table. I know that i am also guilty of this because i usually play while also watching tv or browsing websites online.
While my buy-in fees are alot less than those players in his article, the principle is still the same. I know that i'm a good player when i'm focused and on my game, yet i constantly play with many distractions around me. How good can i be if i were totally focused everytime i played? what would my results be like? why can't i stay focused during tournaments?????
This article really caught my attention because just this afternoon i played a tournament where i was chip leader with about 28 left. I had about 43K chips, 2nd place had less than half that. I was also browsing several websites at this critical stage with the bubble approaching. Some how i managed to get involed in two hands that saw my stack shrink to 18k. Then i had to tighten up because of a terrible table image and two large stacks to my left. I finished 19th. Very disappointed in myself.
While my buy-in fees are alot less than those players in his article, the principle is still the same. I know that i'm a good player when i'm focused and on my game, yet i constantly play with many distractions around me. How good can i be if i were totally focused everytime i played? what would my results be like? why can't i stay focused during tournaments?????
This article really caught my attention because just this afternoon i played a tournament where i was chip leader with about 28 left. I had about 43K chips, 2nd place had less than half that. I was also browsing several websites at this critical stage with the bubble approaching. Some how i managed to get involed in two hands that saw my stack shrink to 18k. Then i had to tighten up because of a terrible table image and two large stacks to my left. I finished 19th. Very disappointed in myself.
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