Monday, June 25, 2007

When The Dog Is Smiling...


...good things are happening.
I have been playing pretty good recently and I am currently sitting on $240 on Stars. I won a 18 man $6 turbo as well as a few $6 six handed sngs. I also played a 45 man $5 sng coming 6th. I was chipleader with 6 left with 2nd place in chips to my left. Blinds were 800-1600 and I had a stack of 1600. Yes chipleader, but in no way safe and content. I get AJo and put the bb all in for his life of 8.5k. Unfortunately, the sb, second in chips flat calls me. Damn. Flop comes Q73. He checks. Now I know that he has only 4K left, but at the $5 level, being pot committed does not always come into it. So I ship it all in praying he folds. He calls with 33 and his set obviously wins. Now why on earth did he basically put his life on a hand where he is at best a coin flip. I couldnt believe he called preflop. Why mess with the one player who can eliminate you? So I type in 'wow, you put your life on 33'. Next hand I get AK and double up v the same guy's 55. Very next hand I get 66 and ship it in again. I am called by AK and it hits an A and I am down to near nothing. This is where it gets funny. Another player, not involved in any of these hands then says 'well you put your life on 66'. Obviously frustrated I type in 'I moved in with 66 idiot...he called with 33...calling and moving in are different things' He didnt reply. It gets folded to me in the sb and I ship in my remaining chips with A2. BB wakes up with AQ and I am gone. I have to play at low levels, but the players are just so bad. Yes I know that is a good thing, but to play for almost 2 hours and lose when a guy puts his life on 33...frustrating.
I also played a tourney on UB, 6 handed, 72 entries paying top 6. I ended 9th when 88 was no good v 44 all in preflop. I win that and I am going nicely. I am currently sitting on $360 on UB.
Full Tilt I have not played much on recently. I have about $240 on there.
William Hill I played a little a few weeks ago but nothing recently. I have about $100 left on there but rakeback will be coming soon.
All in all, some nice progress. I am hoping to get above 300 on Stars, maybe even $350, before I leave for NY in 4 days.


Thursday, June 21, 2007

Shenanigans

Yes shenanigans. I have never used that word on this blog and I thought it was high time.

So I played a bunch of $6 heads up matches last night. Twenty to be precise. I won 14 of them and lost six (obviously). What those stas do not tell you however, is that in the middle of these, I decided to play some full table turbos so I multitabled four of them. In those four my best finish was 6th. Yes, I know, impressive. The highlights were as follows: K5 in the BB losing to K7 on a K562 board. Losing with JT to J7 when I pushed for 5x the bb. Pushing AT into QQ, and my favorite, losing with AA to A9 and 77. It was a lot of fun to say the least. So with that disaster of a set, I ended up making about $15 on the day.

So in two days I have increased my roll my 50% and I am definitely on target for my goal of $250 by the time I leave for New York. (Maybe even $300 if I can push myself and stay focused).

The fiancee is working tonight at her school so I am hoping to get in some playing tonight. However, Thursday night TV is pretty good so I may only play a few. House at 9pm, Shark at 10pm and CSI Vegas at 11pm. Yes I know, nothing incredible but British tv is pathetic and the only good shows are from North America.

So I am hoping for a total of 7 games tonight with my goal to win all 7, but I would settle for going 5 and 2.

Heres to hoping.

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Hot


This was last week during a hot streak on the heads up SnG's.

I think I won 9 or 10 in a row. I cant remember. Thought I should take a picture of it as I figured it was pretty cool.

Oops...My Bad

PokerStars Game #10530561845: Tournament #53347146, $6.00+$0.25 Hold'em No Limit - Match Round I, Level I (10/20) - 2007/06/20 - 13:31:07 (ET)
Table '53347146 1' 2-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: tyson_bluffs (1520 in chips)
Seat 2: Knightsridge (1480 in chips)
tyson_bluffs: posts small blind 10
Knightsridge: posts big blind 20
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Knightsridge [7h 3d]
tyson_bluffs: calls 10
Knightsridge: checks
*** FLOP *** [2d 6s 3c]
Knightsridge: checks
tyson_bluffs: bets 40
Knightsridge: calls 40
*** TURN *** [2d 6s 3c] [7c]
Knightsridge: checks
tyson_bluffs: bets 140
Knightsridge: raises 300 to 440
tyson_bluffs: raises 1020 to 1460 and is all-in
Knightsridge: calls 980 and is all-in
*** RIVER *** [2d 6s 3c 7c] [3s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Knightsridge: shows [7h 3d] (a full house, Threes full of Sevens)
tyson_bluffs: shows [5d 4c] (a straight, Three to Seven)

Nothing like hitting a 4 outer after the money has gone in...

Grrrrr

PokerStars Game #10530286789: Tournament #53345057, $6.00+$0.25 Hold'em No Limit - Match Round I, Level II (15/30) - 2007/06/20 - 13:07:49 (ET)
Table '53345057 1' 2-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: RiverRaider8 (1605 in chips)
Seat 2: Knightsridge (1395 in chips)
Knightsridge: posts small blind 15
RiverRaider8: posts big blind 30
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Knightsridge [Td Kd]
Knightsridge: raises 60 to 90
RiverRaider8: raises 120 to 210
Knightsridge: calls 120
*** FLOP *** [Jd As Qd]
RiverRaider8: bets 180
Knightsridge: calls 180
*** TURN *** [Jd As Qd] [5d]
RiverRaider8: bets 1215 and is all-in
Knightsridge: calls 1005 and is all-in
*** RIVER *** [Jd As Qd 5d] [7d]
RiverRaider8: shows [Ad Jc] (a flush, Ace high)
Knightsridge: shows [Td Kd] (a flush, King high)


Thats brutal

Grinding it Out

Yesterday was a true day of grinding. I played eighteen $6 heads up matches going twelve wins and six losses. By no means is that fantastic as I feel as though I should have been 14-4 or possible 15-3, but 12-6 is ok I guess. The players at this level are incredibly diverse. One game my opponent is strong who I have to grind down and another may be a total donk who pays me off in full when I have the nuts and he has third pair.

One game I was disappointed in lasted all of two hands. The first hand of the match, he moved in and I folded. The second hand I limped with 6c4c and he checked. The flop came Kc6d2c. I had 2nd pair, a flush draw and a backdoor straight draw. He pushed in 1480 chips into the 40 chips pot. I called and he showed Kd3c. I ended up losing the hand and the match. Based on his play I should have waited but I was so anxious to see so many draws and I didnt believe he had a K. Oh well.

I enjoyed playing though I must say. Not much money I know, but to grind out a profit rather than short climaxes of a massive hand in cash or playing above myself in SnG's was a welcome feeling. I am currently sitting on $133 on Stars (I made a mistake yesterday, I did not have $120 but rather 100 to start this little HU challenge). But for a player with 100 in the account, $30 is quite an increase. Not many people can say they increased their roll by 30% in one sitting lol.

9 days till I go to the States. I spoke to my friend Francis who is already in New York and he told me that the night before a bunch of counselors played a $5 freezeout. He flopped a boat and ended up being called by a counselor from Greece who had a straight 8-J. Yes 8,9,T,J...a straight. Otherwise known as jack high, nothing, nada, zilch.

Needless to say, I am looking forward to playing.

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Rounders The Poker Show

Rounders is a podcast available for free through itunes which you can listen to on your ipod or simply on your computer. It is based out of Vancouver Canada and airs live Sunday nights with the upload on itunes happening a day or two later.

The two hosts are both pretty good, with one being a poker pro and the other being a poker junkie. They are funny and have some pretty good shows. They always have a famous poker player/host/or tournament director on with them as a guest and I have learned a fair bit from the show.

Yesterday I was listening to their latest show and the pro, Adam, was talking about something that happened while he was in Vegas last week during the WSOP. He was waiting for a 75-150 omaha game, so to kill some time, he started to play a 5-10 NL game. He bought in for 5K and immediately another existing player to his direct right bought more chips to cover him.

A few hands in Adam is on the button and does something I have never heard before, a 'Mississippi straddle'. Which is posting twice the BB on the button with the small blind to act first and with the option to raise if it is called around. As he posts and the dealer is dealing the cards, his cell phone rings and he picks it up, tells his daughter he will call her back later and hangs up. The dealer finishes dealing and the action goes around with five callers at $20. Adam looks down to see AdKd and makes it another $125 to play. The small blind then makes it another $500, $625 to play. It is folded back to Adam who moves in for 5K. The small blind then calls the floor and says his hand should be declared dead as he was on the phone during the hand. The floor manager asks what happens and after he gets the story says, 'So you waited until he raised you all in to say anything? No thats angle shooting.' He turns to Adam to remind him that phones are not allowed but the bet stands. The guy then folds. Adam then turns to the guy and says 'You should be ashamed of yourself, that is the lowest thing you could have done.' The guy then says 'You're right, and walked away with his chips.' I would have been livid had that happened to me!

Another podcast you may want to listen to is The Circuit by Cardplayer. It is very well done and all the back shows can be downloaded. If you want to listen to some pretty crazy ramblings and also to hear Phil Laak in action, download one of their first shows with Laak and Joe Cassidy as guests. It is from just around Christmas 2005 and is seriously priceless. Laak cannot finish a sentence without starting the next one. His story about the fire in Denmark attests to that very well.




New York and The Next 10 Days

Well I leave for New York in ten days and I am extremely excited. I have worked there for the past six summers and I cannot wait for number seven.

I work at a childrens summer camp called Camp Summit which is in the Catskill Mountains near a little town called Wurtsboro. I basically play sports and games all summer with a few nights off each week to a local hole in the wall with a jukebox and pool table. It's a good time.

The fiancee is also coming where she will teach drama and do plays with the kids. I used to teach tennis, then I moved on to roller hockey and now I am in a kind of supervisor role which oversees the boys on camp. A good friend of mine Francis, is the other person in charge of the boys and its a pretty good laugh. People seem to think we are important for some reason, but we both know better.

In the meantime I am trying to pick up my Stars account to some level of respectability. I had it going well but some ill advised cash games left me dwindling. Really upset at my choice of games; one night and that's it.

So for the next 10 days before I leave (actually eleven days as I began last night) I am hoping to get my Stars account to $250. I currently stand at about $105. I am going to play $6 heads up matches until I get to $160 and then $10 heads up matches until I get to $250. I know it does not seem like a lot, but it is most definitely a grind as I only play one match at a time. Any more than that and I lose the feel for the game and it becomes more like whack the mole than poker. Multi tabling is cool for turbos, but not heads up where the game is more than pushing botting.

Last night I started and played ten $6 matches. I was 7 wins and 2 losses before I played my final game. I had him down to 500 chips but I was in too much of a hurry to win and lost the match. Not cool. So I now stand at 7 and 3, which is not good enough. I should be atleast 8-2 possibly 9-1 at that level. I intend on doing better tonight.

Monday, June 18, 2007

Right

Was in Ireland all weekend so no poker. I came home from work and played a 6$ HU match. I won but was very bored so I signed up for a 22$ HU match.

I took this hand as a hint I shouldnt play anymore tonight.

PokerStars Game #10496989838: Tournament #53179452, $22+$1 Hold'em No Limit - Match Round I, Level II (15/30) - 2007/06/18 - 13:02:26 (ET)
Table '53179452 1' 2-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: enjoysix (870 in chips)
Seat 2: Knightsridge (2130 in chips)
enjoysix: posts small blind 15
Knightsridge: posts big blind 30
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Knightsridge [6h Jh]
enjoysix: raises 30 to 60
Knightsridge: calls 30
*** FLOP *** [Qh Th 8h]
Knightsridge: checks
enjoysix: bets 30
Knightsridge: calls 30
*** TURN *** [Qh Th 8h] [3s]
Knightsridge: checks
enjoysix: bets 60
Knightsridge: raises 60 to 120
enjoysix: raises 660 to 780 and is all-in
Knightsridge: calls 660
*** RIVER *** [Qh Th 8h 3s] [7h]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Knightsridge: shows [6h Jh] (a flush, Queen high)
enjoysix: shows [Qd Ah] (a flush, Ace high)
enjoysix collected 1740 from pot

I ended up losing the match.

Unreal. So frustrating to not play for awhile and then get hands like that.

Monday, June 11, 2007

Stars Heads Up Tourney

167 runners. $20 entry

I got a bye in the first round.

My second round opponent was ok. We basically sparred for a little while and then we got it all in, my TT v his AK. The TT held and soon after I won when he had a couple hundred left and my A5 held v his QJ.

My third round lasted all of 3 hands. He won the first hand for 40 chips, I won the next hand for 40 chips, then I had AK in the bb and he raised it to 60. I did a massive overbet to 500. He re-raised all in for 1500 and I insta-called. He had AQ and he hit nothing. I am now guaranteed $33 for a profit of $11...but I want the $900 for first!

My 4th round match went well. I got an early lead and didnt let up. I tried not to play large pots, just try and smother him. He fought back a bunch of times, but he never broke even. I had him all in with 77 against his A3 but he hit. The final hand was my JJ v his A2. There was a little drama with a 235 flop giving him 9 outs, but he missed them all. Now assured $50.

My 5th round match (round of 16) my opponent was pretty good. He played well and on more than one occasion called down with K high. Both being wrong, but he went with his read which I have respect for. He started to get aggressive at the end, (a little too much in my opinion) which was his undoing. I hit QQ and he raised I reraised and he flat called. The flop was T73 and with 650 in the middle, I put him all in for his last 300. He called with 78s and he missed his 5 outs. Now assured $116.

I just played a fantastic game of heads up poker, and I lost. I was down early and fought back to take the lead. I had him down to 385 chips. He doubled up with A7 v my A6 and then this happened.

This hand cost me the chance at $900 and an assured $267 from getting to the final four.

PokerStars Game #10387022097: Tournament #52339325, $20+$2 Hold'em No Limit - Match Round VI, Level III (25/50) - 2007/06/11 - 17:49:14 (ET)
Table '52339325 3' 2-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: oahi5 (870 in chips)
Seat 2: Knightsridge (2130 in chips)
Knightsridge: posts small blind 25
oahi5: posts big blind 50
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Knightsridge [Jd Qh]
Knightsridge: raises 50 to 100
oahi5: calls 50
*** FLOP *** [Qd Qc Th]
oahi5: checks
Knightsridge: bets 100
oahi5: raises 600 to 700

Knightsridge: raises 600 to 1300

oahi5: calls 70 and is all-in

*** TURN *** [Qd Qc Th] [8c]
*** RIVER *** [Qd Qc Th 8c] [Ah]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
oahi5: shows [Ks Js] (a straight, Ten to Ace)
Knightsridge: shows [Jd Qh] (three of a kind, Queens)
oahi5 collected 1740 from pot

After that hand he hit a lot of cards and I made one bad call late in the game. In the end, his A2 was too much for my QJ.

So disgusted right now. I just cannot get over that one last hand to carry me through. I played that hand so well too. Just so disappointed. I really think I could have won it all.

In the middle of the last game I was playing incredible poker. I knew where he was every hand. I bluffed him a few times and I knew exactly how much and when. I had him cold. Unfortunately pokerstars did not see it that way.

God damnit..

That Kind of Day

I know no one likes to hear about bad beats. But you know what? This is my blog. Deal with it.

PokerStars Game #10383899314: Tournament #52339315, $5.00+$0.50 Hold'em No Limit - Level VI (100/200) - 2007/06/11 - 14:34:15 (ET)
Table '52339315 150' 9-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: DUKE147 (2581 in chips)
Seat 2: GoaMick (7820 in chips)
Seat 3: vinodanino (1035 in chips)
Seat 4: Knightsridge (3215 in chips)
Seat 5: seaanchor (7184 in chips)
Seat 6: Niblitus (1350 in chips)
Seat 7: Sloppers (1963 in chips)
Seat 8: ijnekapijne (4922 in chips)
Seat 9: newspaperman (9270 in chips)
vinodanino: posts small blind 100
Knightsridge: posts big blind 200
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Knightsridge [As Ah]
seaanchor: calls 200
Niblitus: raises 1150 to 1350 and is all-in
Sloppers: folds
ijnekapijne: folds
newspaperman: folds
DUKE147: folds
GoaMick: folds
vinodanino: folds
Knightsridge: calls 1150
seaanchor: folds
*** FLOP *** [5d Jd 2d]
*** TURN *** [5d Jd 2d] [Ad]
*** RIVER *** [5d Jd 2d Ad] [7d]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Knightsridge: shows [As Ah] (a flush, Ace high)
Niblitus: shows [Ac Kd] (a flush, Ace high - King higher)
Niblitus collected 3000 from pot
Niblitus said, "hahahaha"
Knightsridge said, "sigh"

Obviously not a massive pot, but it put me shortstacked. I ran 35o in the small blind into AJ in the BB. That was me.

I was playing well too...

Saturday, June 09, 2007

Will Hill Head Hunter Tourney

Went to the gym this morning, felt pretty good afterwards. I like working out in the mornings as it makes me feel productive. And what better way to feel even more productive on a Saturday then to play poker. My thoughts anyway. I just finished a Head Hunter tourney on Will Hill. I like these a lot as I can make money by knocking people out and it puts a fun spin on hands early on.

I do well early on, knock a few people out with AK and then again with AA. I plod along and stay out of trouble. I bluff an aggressive player on a blind on blind battle and I am playing well. With 265 starting and 15 left, I dont catch any hands and there were some big stacks raising alot who would have called me, so I had to fold. In the end, I was blinded down and found AQ. I stole the blinds. Two hands later, I get AT and move in. I get a caller in A8. Flop is 6JK, turn is a 6, so we are in a split pot barring a QT or 8. Yes, the river is an 8.

I am so close in these tournies, I am just missing that key hand late on. Too bad, I would have loved to get to the final table and see how far I could have got. 12th is not bad though I guess, next time.

Friday, June 08, 2007

Return to The Cincinnati Club - Tourney Report

Today at work I took a look at my blog and saw someone had commented on my latest post. Cambo, a good player who plays at the Cincinnati Club and the Wabash regularly, asked if I would be heading to Cincins for the nightly tourney. I had not given it any thought previous to his post but as the day progressed, a little poker was just what I needed. I came home and hopped on the Blonde Poker forum and looked up the schedule. Friday nights there are two tourneys running. A 6:00pm 25£ 10K chip freeze, 7 handed, with 15 minute levels, and a 9:30 30£ freezeout with 20 minute levels. I figured that because I have not played in awhile, I would play the cheaper early game, and if I liked how I was playing, I would stay on and play the later game.

I got to Cincins and some regulars were having a 1£ sng to kill time before the tourney. It was nice to be back at the club and to see some familiar faces. The tourney began with 24 players paying the top three. I took my seat and we were off.

My table was quite strong from what I could see. Many faces usually seen at the final table were all at my starting table, no time to ease back into live poker, I would earn my chips. I agreed to deal the first two levels as I dont like dealing when the blinds are big and stealing is required. I want to concentrate on stealing and only stealing.

As I am dealing my first hand, the other table near us has an all in and a call! First hand or so. AA v QQ all in preflop. The Q on the flop sends a player to the side. So I get my first hand during the first orbit JJ, and raise to 350. It is folded around and I win my first pot. I get JJ the very next hand and make it 300. I get one caller. The flop is A high, and I check. He bets 500 and I call. Turn is a 6. I check, he bets 1000, I fold. I played this hand badly. I should have came out betting, or check raised the flop. Although I lost only a few chips, and I am 98% sure he had the ace after his turn bet.

I plod along and end up getting 9T in the BB. I check with 1 limper and the sb completing. The flop comes T62. SB checks, I bet 2/3 the pot. Limper folds, sb calls. Turn is a 4. he bets 500. Hmmmm, I call. River is a J. He bets another 1000, I think and think and call. He mucks immediately. Not sure what he had but his betting made no sense for a hand that is beating me. Possibly 35 but he wouldnt call the flop with a gutterball so I was confident. I get AQ and raise, one caller, flop is A high and I bet out, take it down. I am on about 14000 or so when this hand occurs. The blinds are now 150-300 (third level) and on the button I get 77. I raise, making it 1100 to play. The sb folds. The bb is a solid player capable of making moves. I can see from his body language that he does not have a great hand, but he calls. The flop is A64, two hearts. He checks, I check. Mistake! Should have bet out. Turn is a 2 of clubs. He checks, I bet 1400. He min raises to 2800, I call. River is 2 of spades, and he moves in for 6k. Damn. I think and think about what he could have. I was obviously scared of 35, but I kept thinking he had 64 but the running 2's made me a higher two pair. I counted out my chips and realised that if I called and lost, I would have only 6k left, and I didnt need to put my chips in a position like this one. I folded. He then looked at his cards and showed the Q of diamonds, mucking the other. Wow. What the hell did he have. Although something struck me. If he had nothing, he would not have been worried about what card to show me, as if it was a total bluff, either card is alright to show. That made me think 2. A little while later he said he had Q2, which I believe. His reasoning being that he felt it was the best way he could induce a call by making it look like a total bluff. Good fold by me, badly played flop by me.

Few hands later I get 66 and take the blinds. Then I get K9o in the cutoff. I make it 1300 to play (200-400). The bb (never played with him before) calls. The flop comes 678 rainbow. Not a bad flop. He checks, I bet 1000, he min raises to 2000. I call. Turn is a K. He bets 3000. I go all in for 10K or so. He folds JJ face up. Wow, did not think he was that strong at all. I made a note to remember he flat calls with strong hands in the future. A few hands later another hand with the same guy arises. I get KTdiamonds UTG and limp for 400. It is completed by sb and checked by bb. Flop comes KQ5, two hearts. sb checks, bb checks, I make it 1500. SB raises me to 3000. Weird. BB folds, I call. Turn is T of clubs, giving me two pair, but putting a straight draw out. He bets out 4000, I go all in for around 14K. I hate the flush draw and I feel confident I am ahead and I am content to take it down there. He obviously hates that I moved in and after talking about me bluffing, mucked AQ face up. I show the KT diamonds for some bluffing credit later on. I am now cruising on about 20K and playing well. I then make some calls in position with small suited connectors, T8 spades, 57 spades and complete some small blinds. However, I miss each and I fall to around 14K-15K. Around this time, we break up the table. I get moved to the AA v QQ table and I know no one there.

The blinds are now pretty big, 300-600 and definitely worth stealing. I get no hands and go an orbit without anything. This tourney is fast becoming a Pokerstars turbo sng. I then get 99 and raise it to 2300. I take the blinds. The blinds then go to 400-800 and on the button I get 68suited. The bb has played one hand since I sat down so I make it 2200 to go. He moves in instantly for 6K more. Great. It is 6K to me, to win almost 11K. I dwell a bit to make it look like a decision, but fold saying an ace is ahead. He tells me he had one and mucks. Damn. Down to 10K or so. Blinds then rise again, and I soon find myself in the bb of 1000 with one limper and the sb completing. I look down at A8. I move in. With 3K in there and with only 9K back, I can increase my stack by 33%. Limper folds, sb who is chipped up, calls with A6. Window card on the flop is an 8 and I double up. Breathing room. Next hand, I am in the small blind and there are two limpers. I see 77 and ship it in again. After some minor dwelling, I take it down. 3600 chips without showing and I only had 20K to begin the hand with. We lose some players and I concentrate on winning one hand an orbit. Pretty soon we are down to two tables of 5 and we agree on a 10 player final due to the large blinds.

We go on a break, and then draw cards for the final seat positions. I draw seat 5 which is by far, my favorite seat, right in the middle of the table and away from the dealer grabbing my cards by accident. I sit down with 19K to start the final. This is just below average of 23K, but I am confident in my sng skills, especially with the rising blinds.

The final starts and I go through the blinds (800-1600) losing both. I am now sitting on 16.5K and in need of a playable hand to keep my fold equity. I then find 44 in mid position, and I ship it in. Caller from the button, blinds fold. I say 'I hope we are racing' He then says 'pair' and my heart sinks until I see 33 from him. Wow, quite possibly one of the best hands I could see other than 32 42 and 43. The board brings no drama and I add some needed chips, up to 30K (I eliminated him on the hand as he only had 11K left so it was not a total double up.) Then the hand of the night happens when I am in the sb (1000-2000) sitting on 34K. One limper from early position (Q2 guy from earlier) and I complete with 42clubs. The flop comes Ac Qc 8s. I check, bb checks, limper checks. This really surprised me. I 100% expected the limper to bet there. My thinking was that I check and when he bets, I flat call, looking for a club on the turn and then decide how to play a non club turn or depending on the size of the flop bet, make a large raise, committing a lot of chips to scare away a badly played JJ or KK. But when he checked, it made my life very easy. The turn was a beautiful Tc, completing my flush. I check again, knowing he will bet. Then the bb then does me a big favor and bets the minimum 2000 into a 6000 pot. The limper then raises, making it 15K to play. I instantly move in for another 19K. The bb gets out of the way and the limper looks pained and makes a crying call with KhJh for the straight. The Tc was the best possible card for me, giving him the straight and me the flush. I am chipped up now sitting on 70K and chip leader by quite a bit. I then take control but play smart. I dont bluff needlessly but play my cards strong. I also get some luck. The Q2 player moves in on my bb for 9.5K total with blinds at 1500-3000. It is folded to me and I have 63o. It is 6.5K to me to win 14K, better than 2-1 and I am confident I have 2 live cards. I call, he has KT. Flop comes KT4, turn a 5, river.....2. I hit my straight. A few hands later the button bets into me for 12K total and I put him all in with QQ. He calls with AQ and no drama, I take on another 24K. I am now sitting on 110K or so and we are four handed.

We agree to a saver of 50£ for 4th place as the top 3 were only getting paid. Then an interesting hand comes up. I get AT UTG and make it 12K to play. The bb calls. The flop comes 963. He checks, I check. The turn is an 8. He bets out 15K, I instantly go all in as I sense weakness from him. He thinks and thinks, and then asks, if he folds will I show?. I say yes and he mucks Q8 face up. I show the AT and he says nh. I then confirm it was my first bluff of the night to which he says was a reason why he folded. I then get some cards AQs, AT, KTs and take a lot of blinds. Then when in the bb and blinds are 3K-6K, the SB asks if I have looked at my cards yet. I say no. And he says, me neither, I will go in blind if you call blind. I work it out and with 9K already in the middle, I need to call another 13K to win 25K. I agree. We each then flip over a card. I show a 2, he shows a T. The board hits neither and he flips over the other which is a 2. I flip over an ace and win the hand.

Three handed I move in a few times and steal blinds and have 75% of the chips in play. Then the other two players have an all in and AT beats 92 to win. So heads up I have about 170K to 60K or so. The prize money is 245£ for first 135£ for second. I do the math before we play a hand heads up and I realize that we are both guaranteed 135£ and we are playing for 110£. One double up by him though me and he is chip leader. So I say to him 'I will give you 20£ from first prize, making 1st prize 225£ and 2nd place 155£ if you agree to stop now and give me first place'. He thinks about it, and agrees. We shake hands, and I walk away with 215£ (10£ tip for dealer). I was thinking about the deal on the way home and I think it was pretty good for me. I gave up the chance to win 110£ for an assured 90£. In other words, if we had played, I only have to lose 20% of the time or more to be -ev. (I win 4 of 5 times for 440£ or I deal five times for 450£) If we play 5 times, it is entirely possible I lose once.

All in all, it was fun to get back to live poker and to feel the chips and cards instead of see them on a screen. I played well and hit the cards I needed to. Which is basically what winning a poker tournament is all about. After the tourney, I decided not to press my luck and play the 9:30 freeze as I dont think winning twice in one night would happen, and also to put myself in the right frame of mind of starting over would be difficult.

Thursday, June 07, 2007

This is Getting Old


The majority of the money going in after the turn......sigh

Donkeys

Yes I encountered plenty of donkeys last night. A ton of them. Where do I begin?

First tourney - Head Hunter tourney on William Hill. I dont play a hand for 20 mins. Then I get JJ in late position. Mid position raises 3x bb, one caller. I go all in for about 12bb. Original raiser folds, caller calls. He flips over....wait for it.....K3s. Flop brings a K and I am done. Well played donkey.

At the same time as the head hunter tourney, I went in a double shoot out sat for the Sunday Warm Up on Stars. $11 entry with 3 entries. I win my first table and then with 7 left and me in 4th place, I get AKs. UTG I raise, BB thinks and thinks. He pushes all in. I have him covered by a little. What did he have...wait for it....A9o. How a player can win his first table, and then put his life on the line with A9o against an UTG raiser I will never know. But the turn is a 9 and I am down to 2 bb. I push with A6s next hand and get called by QQ. Well played donkey.

Tourney number three - UB bounty tourney. I get KK early and get it all in against AQo. I hold to get an early double up. Things look good. A little later I get it in with AQ v AJ. J on river and I am back to where I started. Then with blinds at 50-100 and 2 callers of 100, I push for 1500. Folded around to first limper, he calls for his life with AQ. Flop brings a Q, I am gone. Well played donkey.

Tourney number four - Full Tilt $10 tourney. I get AA and make it 3x BB on the button. BB calls. Flop is A53. I bet 1/2 pot after he checks. He calls. Turn is a J. He checks. I bet pot. He calls. River is a 7. He goes all in which is about 3/4 of the pot. I make a crying call and see 46o. Not a terrible play by him as if he believed I would call if he hit then his implied odds possibly warrant it, but in his shoes, I fold. So no donkey star for him, but a curious look of bewilderment perhaps.

All in all, I was frustrated to lose as I did, because I would have loved for a big cash. And I really would have loved to win a Warm Up seat for $215. I am going to play more tonight as the fiancee is going shopping with friends. So if all goes as planned, gym, then poker.

Heres to hoping.

Wednesday, June 06, 2007

Fitness and Tonight

I have been going to the gym for about 5 or 6 weeks now trying to not let myself get to out of shape. In high school and university I was quite active playing sports and so I was never really 'out of shape'. But recently I know that my fitness is not what it should be, so while home in Canada I made an effort to get back into it. I started going to kick boxing training with my little brother (though only 16 he is in incredible shape), I was lifting weights in my basement, and trying to eat better. While my fiancee and I were apart for that 6 weeks, she was getting in shape back in Glasgow. She lost a stone in that time and she looks fantastic as she was not big at all to start with anyway. Her and I are trying to get in shape both for our personal well being and the dreaded wedding pictures which will be taken next summer, July '08.

How does this tie in with poker you ask? Well it has been proven that physical well being promotes better thinking and a positive frame of mind. Two tools very important with poker. Not only will I feel and look better but I hope my poker game will progress as well.

After work today I am going to go to the gym for about an hour, then return home and play a bunch of MTT's. It is been awhile since I played one and I am excited to sit down and invest some time. The fiancee wanted me to tone down the poker I play but she is ok with one or two nights a week. And because Wednesday night is the night she goes swimming some friends and then they make dinner and watch Big Brother, it fits in nicely.

I may even put up a few updates as I play tonight. I have neglected this blog these past few weeks, and I would like to get back into it.

A big cash is on its way tonight.

Heres to hoping.

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

Update

Back in Glasgow. Back to teaching. Back to normal.

Have not had much time to play poker since I got back, but I did play a little this weekend. I started with a roll of $50 on Stars and through many heads up matches at the $6 level (yes a grind) I am sitting on $210. I absolutely own them. I went 6-0 Saturday, 8-2 on Sunday, and 5-0 yesterday. So out of 21 games, I have won 19 of them. Not a bad deal at all. I dont like multi tabling with a small roll so I wanted to spin it up a little. Mission accoplished. I will play some turbos in the near future.

Just to give an update where I stand with online accounts and where I have been playing:

Stars - $210
Ultimate Bet - $390
Full Tilt - $210
William Hill - $160

I have been only playing heads up recently, but hope to get in some MTTs shortly, possibly this weekend. I am also planning on giving some friends a call Wednesday or Thursday. George and Mark, if you are reading this, I will call you today or tomorrow. I may even take a stab playing live at the Cincinnati Club this weekend, we'll see.

And finally, I hope to post more often now that I am back!