Deepstack Report

Ok, I didnt put up a report from the Saturday night tourney so here it is.

Saturday night I was really looking forward to because it is one of the only nights I can play some MTT's and not worry about getting to bed at a reasonable time. So I signed up for a bunch. A $22 freezeout, a $3 freezeout and the $10 deepstack. I also played a turbo so I wouldnt get bored early. The SnG I got third (hey, profit is profit), the $22 I ran AK into AA in a blind on blind confrontation (not a good idea by the way) and the $3 I went out in the money maing $8 dollars or something. Nothing big. The deepstack however was another story.

Early on I did nothing. A stack of 5000 and half hour levels make for an absolute ton of play and no rush was needed. I played tight and caught a few hands and was around 9000 when the first big hand arrived. I had K9o on the button and I raised. The small blind (6500 stack) called me. The flop came J84 with two spades I have the king of spades. He checked, I bet 1/2 the pot, he called. The turn was a ten of spades, giving me an open ended straight draw and the second nut flush draw. By this time the pot is around 2400, and after he checks I bet the pot. I know I have outs if he calls, and after leading preflop, and on the flop, I dont want to slow down especially with so many outs. He then goes all in for another 2800 or so. Damn. If I call and lose I am down to 2500 in chips. Not terrible as the blinds are only 50-100 but obviously not a good place to be. I couted my outs as all the spades (9) the sevens (3) and the queens (3) giving me 15 outs. I had to call 2800 to win 10,000. Almost 4-1. Out of 46 unseen cards, 15 will win me the pot. 3-1. I called. The river was the 7 of spades, giving me both the straight and the flush. Phew. I was up to 1600 or so.

I then got moved to a CRAZY table where two players in paticular bet every street with nothing or the nuts. They were dangerous players and they called down with third or fourth pair. It was interesting to say the least. I hit a set and a straight and went up to 21000 when the next big hand occured. The blinds were getting a bit high, 200-400 and with the antes, you needed to pick up the odd hand. I was on the button (I used position very well all tourney and was very proud of that fact) with Q3 of hearts. It was folded around and I raised to 1200. Both blinds called including one of the crazy players who had me well covered. The flop came Q34. They both checked, I bet 3/4 of the pot. The crazy called, the BB folded. The turn was a 6. By this time the pot was 12,000 and I had only about 15,000 left. I was content to take the pot down and because he could have anything, I went all in. He thought and thought and thought and then called...with A5. He had an open ended straight draw. The river gave me a full house and I was up to 45000. Damn straight.

I then got moved again. This table I did very well at. I stole like there was no tomorrow and I played a lot of pots with position. Any weakness and I bet. My stack grew to 65,000 without really showing a hand. By this time the blinds were 600-1200 and I was playing well. Then came THE hand of the tourney for me. I was three off the button and it was folded to me. I raised to 3600 with the AQ of diamonds. The button the raised me another 3600. I didnt like it, but I obviously had odds (but not the position) so I called. The flop came 246 with two diamonds. I checked to see what he would do and he instantly went all in for 35,000 into a 16,000 pot. WTF. He had been a bit reckless but nothing totally out of whack in the time I had played with him. He either had a mid pair or a high pair. I obviously had nine outs with the diamonds, and possibly more if he had 99,TT, or JJ, even with QQ KK I still had another three outs. If I won the hand, I would be top ten in chips, if I lost I was down to 24,000 but still alive. I called. He flipped over AA. The river was the 3 of diamonds. I played the hand badly but got rewarded. I should have folded, but I went with my read. It was the wrong move at the right time. That being said, he shouldnt have gone all in. I would have bet the pot in his position and move in on the turn, it is quite possible however, that I put him on that flop so who knows. It was unlucky for him, but thats poker.

I was up to 112,000 and feeling good. I ducked and dodged, hit a few hands including top set and getting paid, came over the top of a few raises with JJ and KK and soon found myself with 40 left and sitting on 180K. By this time the blinds were worth stealing and the shorter stacks were just pushing so I stayed away from playing many hands. I then found AQ clubs and I raised to 3600. The BB called me. The flop came down 79A with one club. He checked and I bet the pot. He called. The turn was a low club and after he checked I put him all in. He instacalled with A7 and I didnt hit. I was back down again.

The blinds were 3K-6K with antes. The chipleader was on my table and UTG he limped for 6K. He was limping a lot and one off the button I found TT. It was folded around and I didnt want to see a flop, nor did I want to face a re-raise, so I went all in. In hindsight, this was not a great play, but I did. I blame being tired but whatever. The SB then thought about it and re raised all in. Oh no. The BB and the limper folded. He had KK. Good night Knighstridge. With a king on the flop I was done...but wait. Three diamonds on the flop...I have the ten of diamonds.... and The turn is a beautiful Ace of diamonds! By this time I was screaming "dont pair the board, don't pair the board." A harmless four of spades on the river, and I am up to 315K.

After that hand I was doing well, but still had to avoid the shortstacks pushing. About a half hour after the TT v KK hand, the KK guy moved in on my BB. With 15 players left, I called with AK. He flipped over AJ and I was one step away from being chip leader. But a jack on the river gave him some justice and I had to go towards the back of the pack. Soon after I reraised the chipleader all in with AT when I thought he was stealing. He folded, this would be important later when I found JJ and he needlessly pushed. I called, he showed 77, and I hit a straight on the turn. That took me to the final where I sat 3rd of 9.

That was when I lost connection for the second time and I had to call my college roommate Mike in Toronto to play for me. Three o'clock in the morning in Scotland and I am talking to Toronto Canada telling him to fold call or raise (he is a great player and could have done just as good a job, but the thought of playing for ten hours and then letting someone play for me didnt really sound good). I had lost connection earlier in the tourney and Mike had played for me for a few rounds, but at the final table, it is so much more important. I ended up getting connection back and I didnt lose too many hands in the changeover so it was alright. The final table was a weird table, people pushing and calling with hands that were a 50-50 at best. It seemed that 77 was a hand that was used an awful lot, showing up many many times in coinflips. I went card dead when the final began and with people raising so often I couldnt find a spot. That was until I found KK in the small blind. I raised and a limper called. The flop came Q high, I bet the pot, he called. The turn was a blank, I went all in. He thought and thought and called....with 77. Dunno what he thought I had, but no 7 on the river and I was back. I had AK a few times and raised and took a few pots down. But other then that, not much. The players slowly faded away and pretty soon there were three of us left. I was the shortstack but managed to pull within striking distance of second and was a double up away from being joint chipleader. That was when it happened.

I had AJ in the BB and raised after they both limped. They both called. The flop came nothing and I checked fearing the button would re-raise, Mistake number 1. The turn gave me my Ace and I bet out half the pot, Mistake number 2. The river was a blank (or so I thought) and I went all in, Mistake number 3. The chipleader called immediately with the nuts, the K9 of hearts. The turn and river were runner runner hearts. I should have bet the pot on the flop, and even if I didn't, I should have pushed the ace turn. I am pretty sure the button called with 88 or 99 and could not have called.

I was disappointed with my finish but not my play. I was calm and focused and was really happy for my biggest online cash ever. I wish I could have taken it down, but I know one will arrive soon.

Two More Good Results....But No Firsts, Damn!

PokerStars Tournament #41194034, No Limit Hold'em
Buy-In: $10.00/$1.00
45 players
Total Prize Pool: $450.00
Tournament started - 2007/01/22 - 13:14:27 (ET)

Dear Knightsridge,

You finished the tournament in 2nd place.
A $96.75 award has been credited to your Real Money account.

You earned 95.38 tournament leader points in this tournament.
For information about our tournament leader board, see our web site at
http://www.pokerstars.com/tlb_tournament_rankings.html


Congratulations!
Thank you for participating.
Dear Knightsridge,


PokerStars Tournament #41196373, No Limit Hold'em
Buy-In: $10.00/$1.00
180 players
Total Prize Pool: $1800.00
Tournament started - 2007/01/22 - 13:37:38 (ET)

You finished the tournament in 4th place.
A $144.00 award has been credited to your Real Money account.

You earned 134.88 tournament leader points in this tournament.
For information about our tournament leader board, see our web site at
http://www.pokerstars.com/tlb_tournament_rankings.html


Congratulations!
Thank you for participating.

Exhausted But Happy

PokerStars Tournament #40452150, No Limit Hold'em
Buy-In: $10.00/$1.00
936 players
Total Prize Pool: $9360.00
Tournament started - 2007/01/20 - 12:00:00 (ET)

Dear Knightsridge,

You finished the tournament in 3rd place.
A $842.40 award has been credited to your Real Money account.

You earned 355.16 tournament leader points in this tournament.
For information about our tournament leader board, see our web site at
http://www.pokerstars.com/tlb_tournament_rankings.html


Congratulations!
Thank you for participating.


Report in the morning, but for now.....sleep. Took 11.5 hours to finish. Insane.

ZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

High Stakes Poker Season 3!

Yes it is back and Jamie Gold came as well for episode 1.

Episode 1 of Season Three


Listen to the table when Gold raises Doyle to 20K after Doyle opened for 8K. Everyone cracks up at the table.

New Game Plan

Well last night I was at a cross roads in my online poker existence. I sat at the computer and I didnt know what game to play. I really didnt. My first thought I had was to play a few turbos but as I went to register I had some anxiety about the thought of pushing and being called. Not a good frame of mind to be in.

I thought about where I had been having success and I realised that leading up to Christmas I was having quite a bit of success on the cash tables. The levels I was playing were over my head however and because I was only playing one table at a time I trying to make things happen out of nothing, not a good combination. I was also playing some six handed tables, something that takes away from what I believe to be one of my biggest assets, my patience. I therefore hopped on the Blonde Poker Forum (a fourm based type of message board site which is free to join and gives you access to tourney articles and updates, poker hand analysis, live and internet poker forums as well as sports and general discussion forums. My game has improved immensely since I joined the site, check it out blondepoker.com) and I looked up some past cash game threads. I read them and formulated a very basic strategy (something I did not have before). This new strategy of mine was based solely around position and not getting hung up on protecting my big blind. This was something that a few posts remarked was overrated and was silly to play a raised pot out of position.

I took this strategy of mine and plunked down at a $.25-$.50 cent table and bought in for $3o. This went on for a few rounds and I got very bored. Not due to the play of the table, but after playing four turbos, I was missing the other tables. So, I loaded up three more tables to see where it took me. I ended about an hour later up $90. My lowest table balance was $24 with the highest being $76. I was very pleased with this. I didnt know if this was a one off, so I played again today for two more sessions. The first I played for 45 minutes and ended up being up $62. The second session I just finished a few minutes ago and I was up another $71. Very happy.

I like the tables a lot as the players are not aggressive at all and I was just patient. I played tight for awhile and showed any big hands that people folded to my raises. After showing big hands, people labeled me a rock. Then I raised with suited connectors near the button played most of my buttons. Called a few raises in late position and reraised them on the flop. If they called I fired a second bullet on the turn and no one called. The tables I have played thus far have been weak and there is a noticeable difference between them and the next jump up to the $.50-$1 tables.

I am going to keep playing the cash for another few days and I may decide after that to try some more SnGs. Not sure right now. Just going to enjoy the little profit maker I am currently riding.

Update

OK.

Well I am taking a break from my goal of 500 turbos in a month. I cannot continue to play those games as I fear for my sanity. I truly do. Last night was the turning point.

I was the chipleader with four players left. With blinds at 300-600 I raise all in with A7. The shortest stack is in the BB and I wanetd to isolate him, and knew the others would fold to get in the money. But I was wrong. The 2nd in chips calls, no...instacalls, from the BUTTON! He didnt even have any chips in the pot. He flips over QJ suited. He called for all his chips on the bubble with QJ. He hit a jack and I was in the BB next hand with 500 behind. I did my best but the 2nd shortie woke up with aces and beat my A8s. I then asked why he called, and his response? 'I thought I was ahead'. He is behind any ace, any king, and any pair. He is not in the blinds and was in no way committed to the pot. I know that most times I will win that pot and coast through to first. But that isnt the point. My game is advancing but I am stuck playing the same players. I was not on tilt, but I was looking to prove to myself I could play at a higher level....Do you feel a bad bankroll management moment coming up? Me to.

I looked at the turbos page on stars (their new SnG filter which came last week is great) and I saw that a 55+5 turbo had eight players and was waiting for another player. Why, I'm another player! I quickly signed up before I could stop myself. One game to see how I stack up against players that normally play this level, and perhaps some that play it for their sole income. Well to make a long story short, I got second. The first hand of heads up I got it all in with A9 against his....A9. The board apparently got confused with this though, and wasn't sure how to do a split pot so it brought four hearts to make his Ace of hearts very important. Damnit. First place was $250 but my second place money of $150 was not too shabby at all.

Now does this mean I am going to start playing these tables? Hell no. I just wanted to have a one off where I took a stab at higher limits. Can I play with them, absolutely, would I go broke with my current roll, hell yes.

I was thinking about what levels to play and I may try some normals again. The turbos are good, but if I play anything higher than 6.50 I would feel uncomfortable playing more than one table. And if I am only playing one table, why play a turbo? I was looking at the two table SnG's and they look tempting. Big prize pool and you only have to double up once before the final table where it becomes a SnG. I like my chances. I may try one or two tonight and see how I get on. The fiancee may want some 'us' time tonight though and with CSI on tonight, who can blame her? Thus I may just play a few cash tables and see how I get on.

Until next time, good luck on the virtual felt.

Recent Play and Responses

Well I have stepped back from my game and gone over hand histories to see where I can change things for the better. One thing I noticed was that I was gambling too early towards too many players. Let me explain. For example I have AQs one off the button and there has been a min raise from early poistion. The blinds are 75-150. I was raising all in looking for a double up to early. I was risking my stack of say 2000, to win 575. A good idea yes, but risky. The button, SB BB or the early raiser could have a big hand or any pocket pair to which I am behind. I think it would be +ev to push A9+ 66+ KT+ QJ on the button when blinds are 200-400 four handed rather than early. I think I am a better player than atleast 90% of the players I play and I was giving them a 50-50 chance to beat me.

I have also tried to improve the way I play AQ and pocket pairs like 88, 99, TT. Instead of going all in preflop with AQ, I am trying to raise enough preflop that players are almost pot committed but not quite. Then if the flop looks harmless ie no K or J, push all in. I want to give him a reason to fold. This way I can win three ways. 1) he folds 2) he calls but I hit an ace or queen on the turn or river 3) he calls with AJ or AT. It is true that I am giving him a reason to fold, but he may well have hit his card on the turn or river if we were all in preflop. It is also true I am giving him a chance to draw out on me but I still have outs if he calls, and he may also put me on an overpair and fold.

As for pairs, I have done a lot of thinking and came up with something interesting. A pair is ahead of two overcards atleast 52-48% of the time. That is if the money goes all in preflop. However, take away the turn and river and the odds are much better. Lets say I have 99 and I raise enough not to make him pot committed but enough to make a push on the flop make sense. If the flop is a good one ie no AKQ, I push all in. I give him a reason to fold. I take away his turn and river outs. I know this is not perfect and I am still toying with it, but last night I played a set of four and had one wion and two thirds. Nothing outrageous but better than past results.

I dont have the numbers for yesterday in front of me, (I am at work during an off period) but I will post those tonight. I am hoping to play some tonight, so I may just add them together and post just before I go to bed.

Now for some overdue responses. Sorry for taking so long.

Thanks to cell1919 for reading my blog and dropping a comment. It is nice to know my poker ramblings are read by others.

Yorkshire Pudding, the reslolution is 1280 x 800 resolution and can easily, very easily, hold 4 tables of stars. However, I do not believe a Mac supports Poker Tracker or Poker Ace Hud as of yet, although with all the articles I have read recently about Macs and poker, I can see them being Mac-friendly in the future.

Dale, thanks for the links about ICM and flopturnriver.com. I know my swing will change. just cant wait till it does.

What is Going on?

Last night I played a bunch of SnG's; 19 to be precise. I basically broke even.
Today I have played some more; 25 to be precise. I basically broke even.

I dont know what is going on. The games I was destroying are suddenly very difficult for me to win. I dont understand it. I know that I am getting more bad beats then usual, but it is more than that. I cannot count the number of bubbles the last two days.

Unreal.

Whatever, enough talking, on to the numbers. Oh, and I am combining the two days as I tallied them together rather than separate.

SnG's played 44 (134 to date)

1sts - 7 (31 total)
2nd - 3 (9 total)
3rd - 5 (14 total)

Out of Money - 29 (80 total)

Profit Today - $5.60 ($264.60 to date)

Yes...all that playing for $5.60. Unbelievable.

I Had to Open My Big Mouth

Yes, it is official. I am an ass. I opended my big mouth and talked of how well I was playing and that I expected to win each time I sit down blah blah blah.....ass.

Yesterday I sat down and played a set of four which went well. One first place and after blowing a 12,000-1,500 chip lead heads up a second place. I should have stopped there. The heads up match that I lost was the last of the set and it was an omen. The guy outdrew me six times to win. Six times! The last one being my A7 v his QT on a A52 board. He went all in and runner runner T T he wins. I should have got up and walked away. But no, of course I didn't. I played another thirteen 6.50 turbos and had a whopping one second place to show for it. Yes, thirteen games played, one cash. At one point during my third set I was all in with AA v 88, KK v AK and AK v K8 within twenty seconds of each other. I lost each one. 88 hit quads, the AK hit a straight, and K8 hit four to a flush. Unreal.

I have decided that tonight will be pokerless. I am going to go for a run after work, something I have not done in awhile, and something that when I did was great for clearing my head. After that, I am going to sit down with the fiancee and watch a dvd, oblivious to anything in the poker world. No poker sites, no poker forums, and no poker books. Pokerless.

PS That being said, I am going to make up for a pokerless evening tomorrow night when the fiancee is going to dinner with friends. I am aiming for 20-24 SnG's so I could use the break tonight.

Ok fine...urggggh
Here are the (disgusting) stats

SnG's played today - 17 (90 to date)

1sts - 1 (24 total)
2nd - 2 (6 total)
3rd - 0 (9 total)

Out of Money - 14 (51 total)

Profit Today - -$49.90 ($259 to date)

Big News From Pokerstars!

I emailed stars last night with a question I expected to be rebuffed with. It went something like this.

Hi,
I recently bought a Mac due to being sick of viruses spyware etc with windows. I was hoping that pokerstars would release a mac user friendly stars program so I dont have to load windows on the machine. I currently play on my fiancee's laptop, but my Mac has better resolution so I would much rather play there.
Thanks
Knighstridge

Well under twenty minutes later I received an email saying that pokerstars is currently testing new software which can be run on a Mac and if I was interested, would I like to help with the testing by playing play money tables on my Mac and report my findings, problems, etc.

How good is that? I replied of course saying I was very interested and the guy forwarded my email to the software department. I didnt get a reply last night, but I am hoping for one today.

If stars came out with Mac friendly software it would be incredible. No need to install Windows on my machine and with my resolution being better than my fiancee's I could have the tables larger than I do currently. Fantastic!

I'll Take It

Played last night and I thought I did pretty well. My idea of playing five tables though did not come to be. As I was on my way home from work I realised something very important. When I four table, one first place of those four games makes me a very small profit. That fact is very important, and one I forgot yesterday when I posted. If I lose three games of a set, I buckle down for the fourth and concentrate fully on 'not going into the red'. If I five table, I need a win and then some. I dont want to ruin what I have going for the sake of one extra game.

I played two sets of four, and that took over an hour and a half. If I am to play 500 SnG's in one month I need to do better than that. Either I play much more, or my goal will be stretched to one and a half months. That being said, I do not want to play foolishly (when I am tired, on a bad streak, more than four tables in one set) to achieve my goal of 500 in one month, but lose money in the process. Money is the main goal and I am not going to lose sight of that.

SnG's played today - 8 (73 to date)

1sts - 3 (23 total)
2nd - 0 (4 total)
3rd - 2 (9 total)

Out of Money - 3 (37 total)

Profit Today - $51.00 ($308.90 to date)

I am currently running very well with an ROI (return on investment) of just over 65%. ( ROI can be figured out by my profit divided by my buy in amount or 308.90(profit) divided by 474.50 (my buyins, which is 6.50 x 73))

I asked a few players who track their stats religiously and they have all assured me that this ROI will be impossible to sustain over a larger number of games and that at some point variance will rear its ugly head. (They say that an ROI around 15-20% is very good) I realise that at some point a losing day is going to happen, but I feel extremely confident when I sit down at the computer and I really do expect to win. I am curious to see how long I can go for at my current pace. Hopefully, a long time.

Interuption

Last night the fiancee went on a cleaning spree and fearing for my life I joined in. After that, I was tired, and for fear of death of messing up the computer table again, I called it a night. It was made all the better however, by The Usual Suspects being on tv. Best movie ever made. I own the dvd, but there is something about watching the movie on tv, I dunno.

I am hoping to get twelve SnG's played tonight, but getting back to work has been tougher than I thought it would be, and my sleeping patterns are paying the price.

I may try and five table tonight rather than four, with one table being directly in the middle of the screen with some overlap across the other four. I will see how it goes for a set and take it from there.

Heres to hoping

Damn

It had to happen. I knew that. Doesn't mean I have to like it though. After three consecutive days of $80 profits, I was flung back to reality with a grind of three sets for a profit of $3. Now I totally agree, profit is profit, and I would never complain about making money. But when compared to previous efforts, it far from holds up. To make matters worse, out of three heads up, I won only one. I was disappointed with one second place in particular, this guy had AA, QQ, JJ, and AK in four consecutive hands at 300-600. I couldnt do anything. I was a better player as well and I had him down big time. But those hands saved him. Would have been nice, but I suppose after 500 games, it will all even out.

I only played twelve games today as I didnt feel like it was my day. Better to quit while I was ahead and wait for tomorrow. Hopefully there awaits another big day.

PS Tomorrow I am back to work after two weeks off. I am dreading it both because I dont want to, and it makes poker very hard to play. We'll see how it goes.

SnG's played today - 12 (65 to date)

1sts - 1 (20 total)
2nd - 2 (4 total)
3rd - 2 (7 total)

Out of Money - 7 (34 total)

Profit Today - $3.00 ($257.90 to date)

Steady As She Goes

Played five sets of four today, but hoping for more tonight. Played solidly and was pleased with the outcome. My heads up is still going well with no seconds to speak of today. (I know I had two yesterday but in each case I was down to a BB or less and was actually fortunate to squeak out of third place)

It didnt start out well though, going cashless in my first set off four. I took a breather, got a shower, and went back focused. I ended up winning three and a fourth place in the next set. My best set of four ever. I am hoping this trend will continue, as I could get used to it.

SnG's played today - 20 (53 to date)

1sts - 7 (19 total)
2nd - 0 (2 total)
3rd - 2 (5 total)

Out of Money - 11 (27 total)

Profit Today - $80.00 ($254.90 to date)

$6.50 Turbo's - Feeding Ground...(for now)

Yes I am loving online poker these days. (Notice how I said for now in the title, yes things can change that quickly and I know that) but when the cards are falling your way, I say enjoy it.

I played another four sets of four this afternoon and I am doing well. Best of all though, I am confident. I am feeling the flow of the games very well and attacking at the right spots. The last game I played was a five handed affair with the blinds a massive 300-600. I played a fantastically smart game and I ended up taking it down. It felt very good.

The stats

SnG's played today - 16 (33 to date)

1sts - 5 (12 total)
2nd - 2 (2 total)
3rd - 2 (3 total)

Out of Money - 7 (16 total)

Profit Today - $85.00 ($174.90 to date)

Solid Start

Off to a solid start with goal number two. I played four sets of four as well as a single game. By the third set I was playing good poker. The first four games were a bit all over the place, but I expected that in getting back to nine handed tables and playing tight early. The final two sets I won two in each as well as wining the final single game. (albeit sucking out bigtime with AJ v AK v AK...four to a flush, but these things happen I suppose :)

However, take one look at my numbers and one thing is obvious. I am one sick player heads up. Im not sure if it is my skill, their lack of skill, or a mixture, but for now, I would like to believe I am one step away from the NBC heads up showdown.

Here are the stats thus far:

SnG's played today - 17 (17 to date)

1st - 7 (7 total)
2nd - 0 (0 total)
3rd - 1 (1 total)

Out of Money - 9 (9 total)

Today's Profit - $89.30 ($89.30 to date)

Hell Yeah

Ok Lets Go

Back to Glasgow and its wondrous facilities that Ireland has not picked up on. For example, BROADBAND INTERNET!!!!!! Oh good god, dial up? seriously?!? dial up?!?!? And then to my fiancees brother's house where he has broadband. Thank you god. I sign up for a SnG, and the phone rings. He picks up, the connection dies. Broadband...but with one phone line. Have you ever heard of such a thing. I was dumbstruck. But it is over now, they treated my incredibly well, I gained about 8 pounds and I paid for very little. Apart from the internet (or lack thereof) they are fantastic people and I like them a lot.

Ok, so when I left you last I was at $371 and defeated. OK, well I am now at $274.97 and confident. Weird eh? I played some SnGs upon returning last night and lost a few. Then played a $25 six seater and lost. But I went to bed last night, and I came up with a good idea.

A player on the Blonde Poker Forum, Tank, is a SnG grinder and has recently taken up a quest of 4000 SnG's in four months. Impossible you say? No, he has already done it once before. So I was thinking about him, and I got to thinking, why not me?

I am not as ambitious as Tank however, so I am aiming for 500 SnG's in a month give or take a few days. I want to get back to the beginning of my blog where SnG's were my bread and butter. I want to increase my roll with the thought of what game to play never entering into the equation.

So, to restate, 500 $6.50 turbos in one month. I realize that my roll is not open to massive swings, but I think I can do alright.

Heres to hoping.

PS I will be mainly four tabling as long as the total buy in amount is less than 10% of my total roll. If it is more, I will three table, two table etc

New Year's Resolution and Other Stuff

OK, I am going to Donegal to the fiancee's summer home later today (we were supposed to go yesterday but we got back from Belfast too late) and I thought I would post my resolution before New Years rather then after (as I said, no internet access there).

The past few days I have not played any poker but I have been thinking a lot about my situation. I want to be back to $1000 and beyond as soon as possible. That being said I want to go about it a smart way. ie patience. I know I am a good poker player, I just have to make sure that I dont handicap myself before a card is dealt. I need to play at limits I can afford and games where I think I can win.

So, to go along with this, my New Years resolution is a simple one. I will NEVER ever again have more then 10% of my bankroll on the screen at once. That means that not only will I not have more then 10% on one table, but I will not have more then 10% of my roll on many different tables at the same time.

I think that I can hold to this, and it will keep me from doing anything stupid. ie Boxing Day. I need to have a sizable roll to do what I want to do. (Qualify for 2007 WSOP, qualify for EPT event next season) and I cant do that with my current roll.

I just played a $13 six handed turbo and after all the six handed cash games I was playing, it went quite nicely. Never in danger, and they were fish. Took it down without risking my chips. Not bad, $33 profit. I am only playing that game today so my confidence is high in Donegal and for when I return to Glasgow. I plan on playing quite a bit online as well as some live at the Cincinnati Club so I want things going smoothly.

My roll is now 404.97. Workable and manageable. My immediate goal is to be at $1000 by Jan 31st. I will be playing mostly SnG's I think, but I may throw in some cash games as well. (obviously all will be in my 10% range)

Heres to hoping.

When It Rains It Pours

Well being that time of year when we could all use a boost to the wallet, I found myself up a little on stars this morning. I took advantage of my good form lately and withdrew everything but $600. I know that may seem like a lot, but my credit card needed paying and with Christmas presents on the go, it seemed like a good idea.

So I now had $600 dollars (notice the word 'had') and I immediately hated seeing my balance being displayed with only three digits. Yuck. I figured that a few solid hands and I could be right back to $1000 and a nice cashout still in the mail. I went on to a 50/1 table. I got KQs in the BB my first hand. Not one of the first hands, THE first hand, it was raised to $4 by a big stack and I called. Flop comes KKJ. Nice. I bet $8, he raises to $20. Hmmmmmm. Am I behind here? I flat call the $20. Turn is a Q. THE NUTS. I check. He goes all in. I call. River is a J. He flips quads. God damnit, the guy hit a one outer. The table starts berating this guy on his luck. I think I now know why he had a big stack. Disgusting hand, total cooler. I log off the table not wanting to see his stack with my money and I go to another table. After about six hands or so, I get AA on the button. I raise to $5 with two limpers. The small blind calls, the BB reraises me to $15. The limpers fold and it is back to me. I re-reaise to $40. The small blind folds, the big blind then goes ALL IN!!! I call immediately. Because it is a cash game, the cards are not flipped over. The flop comes Q67 turn is another Q river is a T. He flips over AQ. I couldnt believe it. I wanted to kill him. Honestly? What the hell could I do? I went from total confidence with hopes of erasing my cash out, to my present balance of $371.97. (I lost another $29 when I went to a table after the AA hand and logged off after a few hands before any more damage was done)

I am sick right now. I am glad my cashout is on its way but I feel totally defeated right now. I am going to the fiancee's parents' summer home tomorrow for five days. There is no internet access there so I am taking a break from internet poker. I am glad in a way as it gives me time to regroup without the temptation to log back on. I am not sure what tables I am going to play, not sure if I can play the 10/25 tables or the 25/50. I may play some turbos again. I dunno. Really mixed feelings right now.

Until I post again in five days...may your cards be lucky.

Goal Number One - Done and Dusted

What started in September came to be yesterday as I logged off pokerstars on Christmas day and saw my balance as $1200. I know I had been there for a little while now, but I still am quite happy with my progress to date.

Hope everyone had a good Christmas

PS I am thinking that I want a new goal but a shorter time period, we'll see

Ireland, Major Problem, Major Thank You, and Update

In Ireland right now having a good time with the future in-laws. Good food and engagement presents will do that. However the trip did not start off as well as I had hoped...not even close.

I left Glasgow yesterday morning with the fiancee, flying over at stupid o'clock (6:30am or something ridiculous). Upon arrival I went back to bed and after a good nap woke up and tried logging on to pokerstars. I then encountered my worst nightmare. I had forgot to log off pokerstars in Glasgow so therefore I could not log in here in Ireland. I had trouble breathing, the walls were closing in, and I was making weird noises. Ok not really, but I was not happy. I thought that for the next two weeks or so, pokerstars was not an option. I immediately emailed pokerstars and explained my problem of epic proportions. I did not expect much but it was worth a try. A little while later (within a half hour) I get an email saying they had manually disconnected me and I could now log on. Just let me say Thank You to pokerstars, seriously folks, you run a tight ship and it is a pleasure playing there. Even without rakeback that some sites offer, it is times like that pokerstars seperates itself from others.

So, I have played a little since I got here. Nothing major but a pretty big swing. I ended up getting stacked in a 100NL game last night. That was fun. I call with QTs in the SB and the flop comes QT2. I raise, he re-raises a good amount, I re-re-raise, he goes all in, I call. What did he have? Well he had AQ of course with the turn and river coming JJ. Which brings me to my next question. If a suckout falls on the screen and I do not curse because my fiancee's ten year old brother is in the room, does it make a sound? I ended up playing today and getting back lost money so all is well in pokerstars land.

Hopefully tomorrow will see me gain ground on $1300 and beyond.

Pokerstars Balance - $1227.65

Why People Make Money Playing Online Poker

PokerStars Game #7553226991:
Hold'em No Limit ($0.50/$1.00) - 2006/12/22 - 08:00:54 (ET)
Table 'Isora' 6-max
Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: psudoagrsr1 ($47.05 in chips)
Seat 2: DWAYNEC21 ($36.80 in chips)
Seat 3: Knightsridge ($97.90 in chips)
Seat 4: Igot2bullets ($70 in chips)
Seat 5: Marco2011 ($22.25 in chips)
Seat 6: uravictim ($27.35 in chips)
uravictim: posts small blind $0.50
psudoagrsr1: posts big blind $1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Knightsridge [Ac 9s]
DWAYNEC21: calls $1
Knightsridge: raises $3 to $4
Igot2bullets: folds
Marco2011: folds
uravictim: folds
psudoagrsr1: calls $3
DWAYNEC21: calls $3
*** FLOP *** [Qh Ah As]
psudoagrsr1: checks
DWAYNEC21: bets $3
Knightsridge: raises $5 to $8
psudoagrsr1: calls $8
DWAYNEC21: calls $5
*** TURN *** [Qh Ah As] [6d]
psudoagrsr1: checks
DWAYNEC21: checks
Knightsridge: bets $44
psudoagrsr1: calls $35.05 and is all-in
DWAYNEC21: folds
*** RIVER *** [Qh Ah As 6d] [Tc]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
psudoagrsr1: shows [7h 6h] (two pair, Aces and Sixes)
Knightsridge: shows [Ac 9s] (three of a kind, Aces)
Knightsridge collected $103.60 from pot

This player called off their stack on the turn with a flush draw getting 2-1 on their money when there is a pair on board and they may be drawing dead.

I know that two callers on the flop to my raise would mean another ace is out there, but after playing these tables for the past while, those calls mean nothing. Scary.

Christmas Poker

Well I am at work for the last time today before the Christmas break. My school is closed for the next two weeks and I am looking forward to it. I am off to Ireland for Christmas tomorrow morning and I will be there until Wednesday the 3rd of January. I then come back to Glasgow for four days before work starts up again.

I am hoping that I will be able to fit in a fair bit of poker over the holidays, so we'll see. I had contemplated playing live tonight at the Cincinnati Club but with me leaving so early it would be tough. So I am gonna play online tonight, hoping to tip the scales twoards 1200 and beyond.

Heres to hoping

Implied Odds In Motion - A Thing of Beauty

I am not sure if everyone is familiar with the term implied odds so I am going to put it in terms I understand them to be. Implied odds are the odds I am getting during a hand, but not from the pot, rather what WILL be in the pot. Case in point the following hand:

PokerStars Game #7543720111: Hold'em No Limit ($0.50/$1.00) - 2006/12/21 - 16:56:33 (ET)Table 'Ani II' 6-max
Seat #4 is the button
Seat 4: Knightsridge ($91 in chips)
Seat 5: mfernandez01 ($26 in chips)
Seat 6: 1puttkid ($53.50 in chips)
mfernandez01: posts small blind $0.50
1puttkid: posts big blind $1
*** HOLE CARDS ***Dealt to Knightsridge [5d 8d]
Knightsridge: calls $1
mfernandez01: calls $0.50
1puttkid: raises $4 to $5
Knightsridge: calls $4
mfernandez01: folds
*** FLOP *** [3c Kh 5h]
1puttkid: bets $5
Knightsridge: calls $5
*** TURN *** [3c Kh 5h] [8s]
1puttkid: bets $10
Knightsridge: raises $20 to $30
1puttkid: raises $13.50 to $43.50 and is all-in
Knightsridge: calls $13.50
*** RIVER *** [3c Kh 5h 8s] [Jd]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
1puttkid: shows [Ac Kc] (a pair of Kings)
Knightsridge: shows [5d 8d] (two pair, Eights and Fives)
Knightsridge collected $107 from pot

I love small suited connectors in cash games as the blinds never increase. I would much rather be putting my money in with 85 then AA after the flop because I know if I am putting my money in with 85 I have a great hand. AA on the other hand usually is unimproved and is tough to play on a board with straight and flush draws. (Not to say I would rather be dealt 85s then AA, just that if AA goes in I am usually only on AA, whereas with 85s 67s T8s, I will have a straight, two pair, or a straight flush draw...and if the money goes in with those hands, I am usually up against AA KK or AK) This hand for instance.

Prelfop I have 85s. I call the BB hoping for a good flop. The BB raises to $5 and I know I am up against AA KK QQ or AK. I had been playing with him for a little while and he was basic ABC poker. I love that. I call for implied value. If the flop misses me completely I spent $5 to win his stack of $53. If I do that ten times and win his stack once it is +EV. So I call and hit my 5, while he has probably hit his K. Now I realise that I put him on a possible KK, but the fact he came out betting both on the flop and turn I knew he didnt. (He had slow played once before after hitting a straight). So I now face a bet of $5. I know that if I hit an 8 or 5 I win everything he has as after I hit his AA or AK will not suspect 85. I hit my 8 and I stack him.

Now I know that his stack is a little smaller then I would have liked it to be. A perfect amount would be $70-$75, as paying $10 to win $50 is not as good as paying $10 to win $70, but with my stack of $91 I don't mind.

God I love poker.

Pokerstars Balance - 1,125.67

Collusion - Pokerstars Response

How is this for customer service?

My email regarding the collusion was sent around 7:50am GMT

I received the following at 11:45am GMT

Thank you for your report. The integrity of our games is of utmost importance to us, and when confronted with such suspicions, we have one of our poker specialists undertake extensive research into the players' relationships and past play. I have forwarded your message to a poker specialist for review. Please allow us some time to research this matter; it may take several days if the matter is particularly complex. We will be back to you as soon as possible with the results of our examination.
Regards,
Joanne
PokerStars Support Team

One half hour later I received this:

Thank you for taking the time to report this incident.It appears these players may be involved in an attempted fraud. Both accounts have been suspended until such time that we are satisfied that nothing untoward has taken place.Your vigilance in reporting this is greatly appreciated.
Regards,
Bob
PokerStars Security

Well done Pokerstars.
Yet another reason why I play there.

Collusion

Something interesting happened this morning when I hopped on pokerstars for some hands before I headed for work. I was looking at the .50/1 tables trying to find some low stacks and low pots. When all of a sudden I see a table where the average pot was $200 with only two players playing. WTF? So I click on the table and watch the action while brining up the table's hand history. There has been one hand played. OK. I look at the hand in question. The hand went like this. Both post blinds, player one raises $43, player two reraises $54, call. Flop comes 55T. Player one bets $3 all-in player 2 calls. Player one ends up showing 73offsuit, while player two shows 5h6h for three of a kind. I am extremely puzzled. I watch as player one reloads for another 100 and proceeds to raise preflop $70. Player two calls. The flop comes rags and Player 2 goes all-in. Player one folds. I type in 'WTF' as an observer just as two new players arrive at the table. A new player who has put up $100 then says 'cheating?'. I say 'Maybe, not 100% sure'. The player who has won both pots then says 'F U'. The new player then says 'I am reporting this to stars'. Player two then says 'Report what?'. New player responds 'Chip dumping, I am reporting it'. Immeditaely both players leave the table at the same time. I stick around to make sure the reporting gets done as I dont want to have that happen again. I ask the player if he intends to report it. He says, 'not right now while Im playing but after'. I am afraid he will forget and I tell him I will do it. I emailed support@pokerstars.com explained the situation and I am hoping I hear back from them after school.

I will update the blog when I hear more.

Up and Down

Well last night started out with me looking to add to my increasing bankroll and continue towards my goal and beyond. Instead I suffered numerous bad beats and was just getting unlucky. This hand was by far my favorite. I have QQ on the button. There are two limpers so I raise making it four dollars to play. Only the BB calls. The flop comes J87 with two hearts. He checks and I bet eight dollars. He calls. The turn is an offsuit 5. I bet eighteen dollars. He calls. The river is a 4. He checks again. I am a bit bewildered and fearing a check raise check behind. He flips over J6 for the straight. I type in 'huh?' and he responds, "I been practicing that one all night, you like that?". I say "lol, nh I guess" and that was it. I realise that is just one hand and nine times out of ten I win a nice pot, but hands like these were happening as well. I raise with JJ and the shortstack calls for 75%of his stack. The flop brings an ace, he checks, I put him all in and he calls with A9. I have AQ and raise and another shortie calls for 75%of his stack. Flop comes 369 and he goes all in. I call for value with two overs and he wins the pot with Q9. Silly really, and I wasnt too mad to be honest but just annoyed.

I ended up taking a break and watching tv with the fiancee. I hopped back on and won most of it back and finished at $960. Respectable and totally workable back to my $1000.

Heres to hoping

Baby I'm A Big Star Now

By the way, I became a silver star recently. Nothing big, but it does give me 1.5 x FPP's until the end of January, and I also get to play in freeroll tourneys every week. I am going to try and keep the silver star status next month as well. Playing cash the points come in much quicker.

PS The title is a Counting Crows song for those who aren't fans

I'm Back

Well the past nine or ten days have been great in terms of profit on pokerstars. However, this blog has suffered and after having made every effort to write on it before starting cash games, I have neglected it since. No more. I am back to my blogging self and with my new computer losing some of its 'newness' I no longer have any excuses.

Well, I am still playing cash games and as of last night and a small session this morning I am at $991.65. Yes, I am nine dollars away from my goal. A goal I set some three months ago looks like it may come to be. Fantastic.

However, I am a little disappointed in that I didnt do it playing SnG's. Merely because it was what I set out to do. That being said, I think I was being naive in my goal as I believe it is impossible to start with $25 and make your way to $1000 and still improve you game by staying at the same level. By starting out at the $5 SnG level, I gave myself every chance to do well. I was playing the lowest single table limit and it was a level I knew I could do well at. However, at what point does my skill level stutter without moving up a level. The players at that level are ok. There are some solid players but most are fish. I dont want to play only fish. I want to get better as a player and I think I had to do what I did, ie jump up levels, to do that. I am now playing cash and I know that my game is improving everyday. I learned very quickly that aggression is the key to poker. When in doubt raise. Obviously I knew that already, but it becomes very clear when you have 100 BB's and all in with AK is not an option. I am glad I switched to cash but in no way have I played my last SnG. It is merely a small part of my becoming a better poker player.

I would also like to comment on some comments made by Yorkshire Pudding. He has posted since the beginning of my blog and it is obvious he knows poker. He commented in a recent post about me playing cash games over my head. You are absolutely right, no doubt about it. I was playing these games and I shouldnt have been. I started playing the lower limit tables, but to be honest I did not like the way people felt pot committed and did not fold when they should have. ie I knew what they had and I knew they should fold to my bet but they would give a crying call and win. I wanted poker where people had plenty of bets behind and could fold after reraising another player. That is why I started playing above my head. That being said however, I try to limit the games I play with players who could potentially stack me. I tend to play with players who have well below the max buy in. For example I will look for a six handed table with low pots and players with low rolls. I will sit down for ten to fifteen minutes and take the table by storm by raising and reraising. When I have built up some profit, I move to a nine handed table and wait patiently. It is a system that has many flaws I agree, but has served me thus far. I will take your advice though Yorkshire and not play 1/2 any more. I will play .50/1 as my highest stakes for the forseeable future. I know that is still too high, but I feel comfortable there and if I was to ever lose a few buyins I will step down.

I am enjoying playing cash and I am definitely enjoying winning money. I am going to have to come up with a new goal for after Christmas, but for now I am focused on getting to $1000 by Christmas and continuing to play well.

Heres to hoping.

Sorry for the lack of updates but....

Have been busy with my new computer which is abolutely sick. Plus my ipod has been amazing and I downloaded a poker game off itunes. I still cannot get over the graphics.

Anyways, I am playing cash games still on stars. I was playing the lower limits and I decided to take a shot at some bigger tables. I played some 1/2 NL tables. I am holding my own and showing a pretty good profit each time I have played them. Though they are a little over my head I find I focus much more. Plus the players respect raises much more then the lower limits.

Plus tonight I played the most profitable hand ever. Here it is.
PS The villain in the hand had just gotten very lucky on me and took me for an 80$ pot.

PokerStars Game #7458127997: Hold'em No Limit ($1/$2) - 2006/12/15 - 19:40:32 (ET)
Table 'Laertes V' 6-max Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: DevilFromNJ ($90 in chips)
Seat 2: Knightsridge ($143.10 in chips)
Seat 3: scottmack89 ($93.50 in chips)
Seat 4: bashturd ($148.30 in chips)
Seat 5: jpokerstud1 ($92.75 in chips)
Golfnfool will be allowed to play after the button
DevilFromNJ: posts small blind $1
Knightsridge: posts big blind $2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Knightsridge [6s Ks]
scottmack89: calls $2
bashturd: raises $4 to $6
jpokerstud1: folds
DevilFromNJ: folds
Knightsridge: calls $4
scottmack89: calls $4
*** FLOP *** [Ts Qs Tc]
Knightsridge: checks
scottmack89: checks
bashturd: bets $10
Knightsridge: calls $10
scottmack89: folds
*** TURN *** [Ts Qs Tc] [Jh]
Knightsridge: checks
bashturd: bets $10
Knightsridge: raises $20 to $30
bashturd: calls $20
*** RIVER *** [Ts Qs Tc Jh] [As]
Knightsridge: bets $44
bashturd: raises $58.30 to $102.30 and is all-in
Knightsridge: calls $53.10 and is all-in
*** SHOW DOWN ***
bashturd: shows [Qc Kc] (a straight, Ten to Ace)
Knightsridge: shows [6s Ks] (a flush, Ace high)
Knightsridge collected $291.20 from pot

I know that he could have had the boat but each time he hit the flop before this hand he checked and was very straight forward poker. I did not feel he was slow playing a monster. I raised the turn so if a danger card came out that did not help me I could represent the ten in the river. As it happened the A of spades came and was the best possible card for me.

Pokerstars Balance - $701.61

New Computer and Pokerstars Balance Status

My computer should be arriving today and I am extremely excited to get it. Was hoping for it yesterday but after phoning UPS three times to confirm it was coming before seven o'clock last night they said the roads were too bad and that today would have to be the day. I really hope I am home from work in time as after three deliveries I have to pick it up or pay a charge or something, not sure what. Just hope I am home in time.

Pokerstars has been great lately. Really enjoying playing again and it has definitely raised my appetite for poker again. So many possibilities when playing without fear of getting 'eliminated'. I must say that when looking at what table to join I like playing heads-up or three handed as my aggression bascially runs the table over. I just love it as well when people sit down at a table with half the buy-in allowed. For example, people sitting down at 25/50 blinds with twenty or twenty five dollars. I sit down with fifty (the max) and stack them most times or take a good chunk out of them. It is fantastic. Im not sure of the logic behind this, but they do it. It has actually become so good that I leave tables and find new ones starting up, play a few hands, then when it fills up, I leave again. Not sure if that is 'proper poker etiquette' but to be honest, I see people doing it and no one complains so I figure it is alright. I am going to try and focus on this more by jumping on tables for short stints as I find that six handed my profit goes down. I was doing well but ended up losing some, then getting it back, losing it again, winning it back etc. I am currently sitting on $520 or so, and I am hoping to keep playing the 10/25 cent tables as I get accustomed to cash. I need to stay focused right at the beginning of a session especially as I find the first few hands I play reckless and then spend another twenty minutes winning it back. If I can avoid the downswing, my balance should soar.

I have thirteen days left before Christmas. Not sure $1000 by then will happen, but I am going to try. Fifty dollars a day is more than manageable, just have to avoid the days when I lose fifty.

Heres to hoping

FPP Rewards on Stars

I didnt realise until yesterday how close I am to reaching the silver level status of the FPP Rewards on Pokerstars.

Every player on stars automatically becomes a bronze player on signing up. If a player accrues 1500 points in a month then they are elevated to silver. Gold is 3500, platinum is 10,000 and I believe supernova is 100,000 in a year. The benefits of becoming a silver star member are not that spectacular. You get bonuses on your FPP account by getting them quicker, and there are a few monthly freerolls which Silver stars can enter through satellites. I recently played a 1000 sat for the EPT and I plan on playing more in the future, but I also wanted something to show for my time on stars. Therefore due to the amount of traveling I do (Ireland for fiancee, Canada to go home, and New York where I work in the summer) I purchased a Pokerstars Travel Bag. It was 1000 points and I thought what the hell. Better then nothing. I think I may also buy something again next time I have enough points rather then play sats. I will then wait for the FPPs to get bigger due to my silver level status when they give me 1.5 x the normal amount.

Reflection, Renewal, Insert Catchy Re Word

Friday night I played a bunch of SnG's and I began the night at $550. By the end, it became the single worst night I ever had playing poker. Forgetting about money, it was outdraw after outdraw and coinflips lost at every turn. When the dust had settled I was sitting at $379 and I felt defeated in everyway. By the end of the session I was looking at all the different buyins for SnG's and I honestly could not see myself winning one. I was that low.

I went to bed and pretty much had a restless night. I want to be good at the game but recently the game had not been good to me. I was making the correct plays but was still losing. I know that happens, but it was difficult to take. More so as they had been happening all at once. I took stock of my play and realised that the game selection I have been choosing is restricting my creativity. In SnG's, 88 or 99 is either an all in or a fold after a certain point. I want to call with those hands and see what happens. I feel like a robot playing them as each time I finish one I start another. I want to play poker again. Not only SnG's.

Which is where my next point comes in. I have decided to give cash a go. Now I know that I dont play cash. Infact I never have. I have one book on cash game play and I havent read it yet. That's why I want to play cash. I have no one but myself to rely on. I am in unchartered territory and I like it. I began playing cash yesterday morning and I love it. I am playing the six handed 10/25 cent NL tables. I really like them. I am a pain in the ass to play against judging by the comments in the chat box, but that must be a good thing. No one would complain if I sucked. I am mixing it up big time and playing a ton of hands. I am enjoying the game more then I have in awhile. And to be honest that's the whole point right?

I am currently up to $525 which is obviously a big improvement. However an aspect of cash I like is that there is instant results. In an SnG, if I win a big hand nine handed, I double up, but it means nothing if I finish 4th. I win a big hand in cash, or double up, I am actually in posession of that money. Definitely an incentive to play well.

This may last another few days or it may last longer. Who knows. But I am enjoying it. That's the whole point right?

Heres to hoping.

Shortstack Master Baby!!!!

I can play this game. And it feels great.

I flopped a flush and straight flush draw on the flop. Bet it all the way as I thought the other guy was drawing and had the A of diamonds. He had the TJ of diamonds and I was down to 40 chips and in the SB.

PokerStars Game #7354764777: Tournament #37613972, $25+$2 Hold'em No Limit - Level I (10/20) - 2006/12/08 - 15:47:55 (ET)
Table '37613972 1' 9-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: rdh009 (1460 in chips)
Seat 2: beck23x (3040 in chips)
Seat 3: Tortfeasor36 (1440 in chips)
Seat 4: Knightsridge (40 in chips)
Seat 5: cjb04 (1500 in chips)
Seat 6: IKnewwwIt (1500 in chips)
Seat 7: gobucks3 (1500 in chips) is sitting out
Seat 8: sano1981 (1620 in chips)
Seat 9: YaraYara (1400 in chips)
Knightsridge: posts small blind 10
cjb04: posts big blind 20
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Knightsridge [Jd 8d]
beck23x said, "ty"
IKnewwwIt: folds
gobucks3: folds
gobucks3 has returned
sano1981: calls 20
YaraYara: folds
rdh009 has timed out
rdh009: folds
rdh009 is sitting out
beck23x: raises 60 to 80
Tortfeasor36: folds
Knightsridge: calls 30 and is all-in
cjb04: calls 60
sano1981: folds
*** FLOP *** [Tc 4s 8s]
cjb04: checks
beck23x: checks
*** TURN *** [Tc 4s 8s] [Jc]
cjb04: checks
beck23x: checks
*** RIVER *** [Tc 4s 8s Jc] [7c]
cjb04: checks
beck23x: bets 140
cjb04: folds
*** SHOW DOWN ***
beck23x: shows [Js Ah] (a pair of Jacks)
beck23x collected 80 from side pot
Knightsridge: shows [Jd 8d] (two pair, Jacks and Eights)
Knightsridge collected 140 from main pot

PokerStars Game #7354798964: Tournament #37613972, $25+$2 Hold'em No Limit - Level I (10/20) - 2006/12/08 - 15:50:39 (ET)
Table '37613972 1' 9-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: rdh009 (1460 in chips) is sitting out
Seat 2: beck23x (3040 in chips)
Seat 3: Tortfeasor36 (1120 in chips)
Seat 4: Knightsridge (310 in chips)
Seat 5: cjb04 (1270 in chips)
Seat 6: IKnewwwIt (1470 in chips)
Seat 7: gobucks3 (1480 in chips)
Seat 8: sano1981 (1950 in chips)
Seat 9: YaraYara (1400 in chips)
gobucks3: posts small blind 10
sano1981: posts big blind 20
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Knightsridge [7h Qh]
YaraYara: folds
rdh009: folds
beck23x: folds
Tortfeasor36: calls 20
Knightsridge said, "ill probably win now"
Knightsridge: folds
cjb04: folds
IKnewwwIt: folds
Knightsridge said, "lol"
gobucks3: calls 10
sano1981: checks
*** FLOP *** [Jd 9s 4d]
gobucks3: bets 80
sano1981: folds
Tortfeasor36: folds
gobucks3 collected 60 from pot
gobucks3: doesn't show hand

PokerStars Game #7355259517: Tournament #37613972, $25+$2 Hold'em No Limit - Level IX (300/600) - 2006/12/08 - 16:27:15 (ET)
Table '37613972 1' 9-max Seat #4 is the button
Seat 2: beck23x (2227 in chips)
Seat 4: Knightsridge (11273 in chips)
beck23x: posts the ante 50
Knightsridge: posts the ante 50
Knightsridge: posts small blind 300
beck23x: posts big blind 600
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Knightsridge [Jh 3h]
Knightsridge: calls 300
beck23x: checks
*** FLOP *** [8s Jd 5s]
beck23x: bets 1577 and is all-in
Knightsridge: calls 1577
*** TURN *** [8s Jd 5s] [7d]
beck23x said, "gg"
*** RIVER *** [8s Jd 5s 7d] [3d]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
beck23x: shows [5c 7c] (two pair, Sevens and Fives)
Knightsridge: shows [Jh 3h] (two pair, Jacks and Threes)
Knightsridge said, "gg"
Knightsridge collected 4454 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 4454 | Rake 0
Board [8s Jd 5s 7d 3d]
Seat 2: beck23x (big blind) showed [5c 7c] and lost with two pair, Sevens and Fives
Seat 4: Knightsridge (button) (small blind) showed [Jh 3h] and won (4454) with two pair, Jacks and Threes

If I lost that game it would have hurt as I was losing a few in a row. Now I feel like I could play the big game at the Belaggio. Aint it a great game?

What the Coyote Said

Whenever you have a picture of Wile E Coyote on your poker blog, it is never a good thing.

Last night I played some $6 turbos to get warmed up, played ok, got a first and a third, meaning a little profit. Fired up some $15 turbos, got fried with two out of the money finishes. Not fun. Tried some more $6 turbos again, did ok again, nothing spectaular. Tried a $25 SnG, got second place, so not bad, then tried another $25 and lost. So I played three more $6 turbos, hoping if I win one, it is a little more profit then if I had played four and won one. I didnt win one. Ho hum, loss of $25 for the night, down to $550.54.

My idea of playing $6 turbos to get warmed up is a tough one as the games really are vastly different from the $25's. I am going to have to go back to the drawing board in terms of strategy.

Some very exciting news last night however, was that the Cincinnati Club announcing that Friday nights were returning to £25. Yessss. Big up to Fergus8 the card room manager who tried £75 night, but after they were not as successful as he would have liked has returned. I had no problem with the £75 nights, as even though I didnt play them, I hoped they would succeed for the good of the club. They werent as popular as expected and Fergus8 has done the right thing for them to return to £25. I am hoping to go in tonight but I have had a cold the last few nights and I cant shake it. I'll see how I feel. My live game is running well right now (bar the AK hand at the Wabash) and I am confident. My online game also improved after a strong showing live, so maybe it would do the trick. Either way, the fiancee is going out tonight, so poker will be played, or my name isn't Knightsridge. Which it is.

Lee Jones, Why Do You Hate Me?

Ok, first off, I would like to say that a reader of my blog contacted me yesterday saying he liked my blog. It is great to know that a total of two people are now reading my poker ramblings. Thanks Neil.

See that picture? Ok, it is a picture of a twenty dollar bill flying away. Well take that picture and multiply its meaning by five and you will be able to see what a great day I had yesterday. Yes, I lost $100. Not cool at all, sucks the big one. Yet I left the tables last night feeling confident. What happened you ask? Well. Where do I begin.

I played two $25 SnG's. Nothing unusual so far. But for some reason I never got cards and when crunch time arrived I could not find a spot to throw my chips in. It was always raised before it got to me...very frustrating. When I finally got a chance with A5, yes I was desperate, the rock next to me woke up with AKs. The other one I lost a race. I was down but not out. I proceeded to convince myself that four tables of $15 was just what I needed. Yes, perfect thiking right? I then donked out of every one. Yes, every one. I could not believe it. I calmed myself and played one $15. I got second. Ok, not bad. I then played two more $25 as my confidence creeped back. Then something happened. I saw the game in a new light. I realised that push botting is the key to these higher level SnG's but at an earlier stage then I had been thinking. I was waiting too long for hands and too often giving players odds to call me in the later stages. I recognised this and played great poker in the last two. Now I only got a third place for a little money in one, and fourth place for nothing in the other, but I was confident. I saw the mistake I clearly made to come fourth and for the third place finish I had 55 beaten by A4 (not too bad if he hits an ace but the board double paired Q's and J's, I hate when that happens) Anyways, I went to bed strangely peaceful knowing I could compete at that level on a reglar basis.

That being said, I think I have been going about it wrong. I have been jumping right into a tough game immediately upon sitting down. I should start smaller and see how I am playing first. See if I am running hot or not, and plus, avoid the massive swings that $25 SnG's can bring. Because when your bankroll is only 25 buyin's, variance is an ugly thing. Therefore, lying in bed last night, when normal people are asleep but poker players with high aspirations are thinking about, what else, poker, I came up with a system I believe will work.

From now on, I am going to play four $6 turbos to begin with. That is $26 dollars on the table, and if I can take first in just one, I make a small, small, small, profit. This gets me thinking about the game and focused on the task at hand without risking too much. If I do not get any results, I can play another round of $6 turbos, or decide it is not my day and cut my losses for another time. If I do well, I will jump into some $15 turbos (two of them meaning $32 on the table) and hope to make some profit. If I am still feeling good, I will try a $25 SnG, and see how it pans out. I know this system is not magical or anything, but it starts me off small and gets my mind into the game gradually instead of hopping right in to a game which can damage my roll with a few bad sessions in a row.

Heres to hoping
Pokerstars balance - $575.01

Almost

Played two $25 SnG's and was bombarded. No luck at all. Not cool at all.

I had 42 in the BB and UTG flat called at 75-150 as did two others. I figure the UTG is either mediocre AJ KJ etc or massive KK AA and the others are not that strong as they didnt reraise. I check. The flop comes 429. I know I am ahead of everyone as I didnt think 99 would flat call with so many limpers. I check. UTG bets out 300 one limper calls. I go all in. The UTG calls immediately and I figure AA, the limper folds. He flips over A9. Wow, what I put him on preflop but to call straight away. The turn is a Q, river.....another 9. I am out.

The other I pushed with A4s five handed hoping to steal and the SB called with 77, no help. Not a bad beat, just unlucky, as I was card dead and it was the first time I had a suited ace in forever.

I was unhappy and uncomfortable so I told myself to buckle down and play focused poker. I also thought that playing two games would be good so I didnt try 'too hard' and start pressing where I shouldn't. I signed up for two $15 SnG's and we were off. I played really well in both.

In one I slow played KK preflop (hoping for no ace on the flop) and it came Q high. I got in a raising war with another short stack who I was 95% sure had AQ. The money went in, he had AQ, I win a monster and am massive chipleader five handed. I press smartly, min raising small stacks, putting average stacks all in, and I get first place. Unfortunatly as I am playing heads up I am three handed in the other and I end up folding a few hands instead of taking blinds to ensure a first place finish in the other. In the end I get third when I push ATs into AJs. No help but still, profit.

My confidence is back and I play another $25. Three handed I am chipleader and I push T4s from the button. The SB calls and so does the BB! they flip over 44 and 77. Any ten and I win. No help, and I am down to 13400 - 100 heads up. I get back to 1000 but I lose with A9 to TJs. I am happy with my play (I should have been a monster three handed but the guy I went heads up with had hit a Q on the river four handed when his JQ got lucky against my A7. It wouldnt be so bad preflop, but the money went in on an AQ5 flop). Next time.

Almost at $700

Pokerstars Balance - $688.01 (Not bad from $25 eh?)

Nothing Exciting

Yesterday the day started off on the right foot getting in the money twice in a row. (Albeit third place finishes, but profit none the less). I then proceeded to finish out of the money in two consecutive $25 SnG's and then I dropped down to a $15 and finished out of the money again. I was pretty much card dead throughout the last few games and I looked at the hand histories and other then pushing UTG with TJ at a six handed table, nothing I could do.

Pretty unlucky in the first out of the money finish as four handed a player went all in with AT and was called by KK. One player is all in and the other is left with 180 chips at blinds 200-400. The KK lost and he posted his BB next hand. The guy's hands kept winning and I ended up coming 4th. Not cool, 45 dollars for a third place would have seen me finish in profit yesterday. Instead I am now down to $639. Nothing dangerous but I may continue to play a few $15's to get the confidence back. Maybe even a few $6's, we'll see.

I have parents evening tonight at school (only 3 more weeks till Christmas vacation, thank you) so I will be home a little later then usual. Hopefully I can plunk down a bit late tonight and get some serious playing done.

Strike Up the Band Baby

YESSSSSSSSSSS

After many weeks floating around $500 on pokerstars and even going down as far as $250 a short time ago, I got the preverbial monkey of my back and surpassed my goal of breaking $600 this weekend. I started playing at around 8:00pm with $453 in my account and now I have $673. Damn straight.

I played some $25 SnG's as well as a $35 SnG and I played well. I had one outdraw and got outdrawn once so all is well. Really happy with my performance tonight. I know these SnG's are out of my bankroll but I only played them one at a time and the results speak for themselves.

Amazing how some strong showings live can give my online game confidence. Not going to tempt fate though, quite tired. Tomorrow will be here soon.

Bam baby $673 ! (I know, nothing incredible, I just was so stuck around $500, feels good to push on...$1000 here I come)

The Wabash Club

Last night I played at the Wabash Club for the first time. Cambo, the guy who organised our team for the team event, plays there often and met up with me beforehand to show how to get there.

The club has five tables and some couches as well as a few tv's spread out over the card room. Not a bad place at all. The tourney was a £25+£2 registration. You got 7,500 chips and another 15,000 anytime before the first break. The first hour was 100-200 blinds, and then half hour levels after that.

The first hour I played sooooooo tight. Played three hands in that time as well as two big blinds, Winning one pot. They had me labelled as the tightest player in the room. Thats fine, I want that.

During that first hour the funniest thing I have encountered at a poker table occured. The table was self dealt so we would high card when a dealer was ready to stop dealing and switch with another player. Apparently I dont look like I belong at a poker table as the dealer doing the high card placed his hand in front of me and said very slowly, "If you get the highest card of all the cards that are flipped over, you have to deal, ok?" Nice guy and all and only trying to be helpful, just quite funny. Anwyays.

The first major hand occured a few hands into the second level with me in the BB. There is one limper at 200-400 (they skip 150-300) and then the SB raised it to 2000. He is a maniac and could have anything. I look down and see JJ. I call, the limper calls. The flop comes 3J4 rainbow. Cue up the band. The small blind comes out firing with 3000. I call, the limper calls. The turn is an 8. The SB checks, I check, the limper bets out 5000. The small blind folds. I then go all in for an additional 5400. He calls. I flip over my set and he looks disgusted and shows AJ drawing dead. Second pot I win all night and I am table chip leader. Not bad at all.

I continue to play tight, no point getting involved and see few flops. I then pick up QK in mid position and raise the 300-600 blinds, 2800 to go. Now again, I have been playing tight and yet the small blind and big blind both call. (I know QK is not a great hand but I had good position and people were not used to seeing me play a hand). The flop comes out K73. Not bad. The SB checks, the BB checks. I bet out 3800. The SB folds, the BB calls. The turn is a 2. He checks and after seeing he has 18000 left, I bet 7000. He then goes all in. Making it 11000 to me. There is 41,000 in the pot and I have to call 11,000. I have 40,000 left in my stack (so I am in fine shape if I lose) and I am getting almost 4-1 on my money. I was most afraid of K7, but I thought maybe KT or K9. As I am deliberating, he says, "If you have to think this long, you are behind". Hmmmm. At that point I dont think he wants a caller and that seals it. Getting 4-1 and his strange speech play make it a call (I would have called without him saying anything but it just solidified it) He flips over K2 for two pair made on the turn. I laugh for his chasing and promptly river a 3 for a better two pair with my Q kicker. He is not happy, but to be fair, who is when they get knocked out. (I ended up speaking to him later and he is a nice guy, he even volunteered to deal for us later on, cheers Jack, unlucky) Now a few players at the table made some noise about me calling, whatever, I dont care. But Bob, a regular at the Cincinnatti Club, summed it up quite well, "What the hell is he calling preflop with K2?" Now I am not saying Jack made a bad play in calling preflop, but I think it is hard to say I should have laid it down on the river yet he should have called preflop. They are either both good plays or both bad plays.

I am now over 80,000 and I think tourney chip leader. I continue to coast along. I play few hands and basically wait patiently. The blinds are not big enough to start stealing consistently and there are a few short stacks in pushing mode, best to keep out for the time being. During this time a player arrives at the table, an older gentlemen who seems to be well known by most people there. He seems like a solid player. A little while passes and this new player is in the SB to my BB. With the blinds now at 800-1600 he flat calls my BB. I have Q9 and check it. The flop comes Q7Q. He immediately bets 6000. Now obviously I know I am ahead. If he has a Q or 77 he is gonna check. The problem however, is that I can't see his chips. He has his arms in the way and I can't see how much he has left. I dont want to go all in and have him fold with 20,000 or so still left thereby wasting a great opportunity to get them. Basically, I dont know if he is pot committed. I ask him how many chips he has but I didnt hear him. Either an accent problem or my ipod was on too loud (which I dont think it was but it could have been and I am giving him the benefit of the doubt) He finally moves his hands and I can see he has 8000 left. I raise him all in right away and he calls. He flips over 67 and I flip Q9. He immediately gets up and gives me a dirty look. I say unlucky, good game to which he gives me another dirty look and says something I couldnt make out. I take off my ipod to assess what the hell is going on. I look at the table for answers. Another regular says that he wasnt impressed with how much time I took to raise and thats why he is upset. I look at the player who is now standing a few feet away from the table and tell him I didnt know how many chips he had left. He then says 'Fucking prick'. I shrug my shoulders and respond with 'ok'. I am not getting into a war of words with someone not on the table. A little while passes and he is now talking to someone else. I can see is he talking about me again and motions towards me. I attempt to see if he has calmed down yet and say 'I'm sorry for taking so long, but I didnt know if you were pot committed, I didnt want to go all in and have you fold'. His response? 'You have the fucking chips, just put them in ya fucking prick'. Yes, definitely the highlight of the evening.

I continue to plod along, nothing dangerous, min raise the blinds of some short stacks and stay out of trouble. I then get moved to another table. I get some good cards and raise a few blinds take some down, nothing monumental. Pretty soon, the two tables are hand for hand for an eight player final. A bit unfair for my table as we are four handed and hit the blinds more frequently then the other table but what can you do?

I have about 130,000 out of around 810,000 and I am around 2nd or 3rd in chips. I then get 22 in the SB. The BB was just moved to the table and I have never played with him before. He has around 100,000. I raise the 2000-4000 blinds to 10,000. The flop is rags and I bet out 15,000. He folds and makes a comment about me stealing. Next orbit it is folded to me again in the SB. I look down to see AK. I raise again to 10,000. He takes a look at his cards and immediately goes all in for an additional 85,000. Damnit. I know he thinks I am stealing. And I know AK is either miles ahead or a coin flip. I also know that if I win this hand I am winning the tournament. No doubt in my mind I will win if I win this hand. I think about it and basically thought that the possibility of AQ or AJ was too good and even with a coin flip I can still win. I call. He flips over 99. The flop gives him a set. That is that. I am down to 30,000 in chips. It is here where I am the most diappointed in myself. I go all in with J7 next hand. I lose another coin flip to 33. I wish I had of played the stack tougher. Two double ups and I am back to where I was. I was just so distracted with losing the hand that I gave up. Something that I usually take pride in not doing.

Looking back I played solid poker for over four hours and I put it on the line with a coin flip when I had over 33 big blinds. Doyle Brunson says, "Never go broke in an unraised pot". I did. I have learned my lesson. Yes, the pot would have allowed me to win, but was it worth the risk of not having a chance to win at all? I think if I fold I do damage at the final table. My SnG game is strong and when I have a chip lead I can be dangerous. Too bad I didnt get the chance. Next time.

All in all, it was an ok night. The game is much different from anywhere I have ever played for sure. And without a doubt the most awkward moment I have ever encountered playing was the Q9 hand. But I plan on playing many more tournaments so I think if that stays the worst I will have a happy poker future.

Team Event Recap

Well, it was good to get back to live poker. And no matter how fun online can be, it doesn't compare to brick and mortar.

Last night I was lucky when I had to be and unlucky when I didn't have to be. Does that make sense? Not sure really.

We started with 5000 chips at a nine handed table and blinds at 50-100 with twenty minute levels. My table took the longest to finish and I am positive I got my moneys worth.

The first level I didnt play a hand. This continued until half way through the second level with blinds at 100-200 when I found K 8 spades two off the button with no limpers. I haven't played a hand in the first half hour so my raise would be respected right? Not quite. The button called, the small blind called and after a short dwell, the big blind folded. Hmmm, not good. That is until the flop of 457 all spades giving me the second nut flush and a gutshot straight flush draw. Small blind checks, I check, button checks. Turn is a 9 diamonds. Small blind checks and I bet 400 to see if someone has the A of spades. They both flat call. Hmmm. River is the 8 hearts. Small blind checks and I bet 2000 into a pot of 3200. The button folds and the small blind calls. I show the flush and he mucks. He later told me he had 66 which would make sense. I floated along, managed to get away from AT on an AQ2 board when I was reraised by the big blind. He showed the A2. I ended up getting KK and reraised some limpers but other then that, not a whole lot through the first hour. Little pots, no fireworks. By the break our table of nine, had become a table of eight (by far the slowest in the room) and I was sitting on 9,300. I was in the top two in chips at the table and was content.

After the break blinds were now at 200-400 and stealing was becoming a necessity. I continued with little cards until I got AJs in mid position. I raised 3X BB and was flat called by the SB who also had a lot of chips. I put him on a mid pair. The flop came AK2, I went all in after he checked. He showed TT and folded. I know he could have had a monster but I was pretty sure he had 88-JJ. I have played with him before and I was comfortable going all in in that spot. My chip stack stayed pretty safe until I made a stupid error. With the blinds at 400-800 I was two off the button with 22. I raised to 3000 just wanting the blinds. It was folded to the BB who went all in for another 2400. Damn. I had to call hoping for a coin flip but he turned over 88 and I got no help. I was now shortstacked with 2500 at a seven handed table and blinds at 400-800. I folded 64 but the following hand I picked up KJ. My second favorite hand to push with in that spot. (KQ being my favorite) The player on my immediate left who had been playing tight called immediately. Uh-oh. Then the short stacked small blind called as well. I thought I was done. But when we flipped them over it couldn't have been better. They both had AT. Perfect. The flop brought me a King and the turn and river didnt bring an ace. I went from short stacked 2500 to second place with 8300 (the 800 BB folded). I love SnG's. A few hands later I picked up QQ and raised putting the short stacked BB all in. He turned over 68. The board came 94468. Some people were watching and started yelling when he rivered the 8 but I knew he needed another 6 with the two 4's on board. After a minor commotion, I took the pot. It was around this time that my teammates informed me that I had to win if we were to advance, second place and we were gone. No pressure right?

We were now four handed and I was close to being the chip leader, if not the chip leader at around 15000. Then came a very tough hand. I got AJ and raised it to 3000 with the blinds still at 400-800. The other big stack went all in for around 11000 total. I was getting almost 2-1 for a call and I put him on either A rag or KQ. I have played with him before (same guy who had TT earlier) and I have seen him risk a lot of chips in a spot where he thinks he can get the other player to fold. I was not sure where he was. I figured I had live cards and if I lost I was still alive with enough chips to still have some fold equity. I called. I am still unsure if this was the right play (I am leaning towards it being the wrong one) but I called. He flipped over the same hand as before TT. The window card was an A with the board finally resting on AJ998. Phew. I didnt think he was that strong but it was probably what I wanted to see after I called. (compared to AK or QQ or something like that). By this time I have a lot if chips and my plan was to min raise, play small pots and cash in when I have the cards. That was the plan. Then why did I call a 10000 all in from another stack with A4? I raised to 3000 and he went all in for another 7000 or so. I put him on KQ and he wanted me to go away. I called hoping to see a bluff. He flips over JJ. Damn. The board gave me my ace and he was gone, but it was a terrible call on my part and was my worst play last night.

Heads up we go. I had a big chip lead starting heads up, but because there was only 45000 chips in play, one double up and the short stack is back in it. My plan right from the beginning was to play small pots and put him to tough decisions every hand. Well first off, I went card dead. I know the cards are irrelevant most times, but he was a solid player (hes the older gentlemen to my right in the picture below this post) and was not going to roll over. He pushed the first few hands where I min raised and I had to lay down. I had 46, 73 and J2 and didnt want to double him up with something like that. He fought extremely well and played very smart (well done Tom) and the chip lead went back and forth. I think we played heads up for over an hour or close to it. All the other tables had finished and they were just waiting for my table to be done. The hands were far from spectacular but the majority were flat calling the BB and betting the flop. Because of such few chips it would be difficult to get away from a re-raise, so it was a cagey game. I pushed with a lot of cards when we got to 1500-3000 as fold equity was the only thing keeping me afloat. As I said, he played very well. I ended up pushing one too many times and did so with 72s, yes, 72suited (like I said fold equity is everything in a SnG and it is never NEVER a bad play to get all your chips in first). He called immediately with AK. Two live cards right? Flop came 899 turn was another 9 I believe. And the river? Why a 7 of course. Thank you poker gods. I was now a slight chip leader. Like I said, only 45000 chips in play, anything can happen. Two hands later I get 75offsuit and flat call the BB. He checks. Flop comes Q55. Ok here we go. He checks, I check. The turn comes a 6. He goes all in. I jump up and say 'call' and throw the cards down. The river is another Q and I take it down. It felt so good.

I got up from the table after shaking hands excited to be in the next round, and also for winning the table I get my entry back, not bad at all. After talking to a few people about the last few hands (many people called me a maniac for the 72 hand), I see my teammates looking at the points board shaking their heads. That is never a good sign. The top seven teams get through. Team blow-up comes eighth. That sucks. Was so not cool. Steve got unlucky at his table, especially after a mis-deal when he had JJ on an T high board v AT. Dealers make mistakes it happens, just tough to take. Hairydude got outdrawn a few times including once for a huge pot, and came third. Cambo tried a bluff but the other guy hit a set and went out, while Greg's replacement had some unlucky flops.

It was disappointing to come so close, especially as I would have loved being the short stack at my next table seeing how far I could have gotten. The team had very solid players, too bad we just couldnt get a few more points and advance. Oh well, next time

Think I am going to play the £75 freeze tonight. Really enjoyed last night, and another night of live poker would be great...followed by a late sleep in Saturday morning.

Cincinnati Club Festival: Team Event Pictures

First up, my team: Team Blow-up


That's me in the red hoodie.


Steve talking, with the blue zip-up, sitting next to the guy with ipod earphones around his neck


Cambo has his back to the camera sitting in the chair in front of the water and tea (it's Scotland, of course someone at the poker table is drinking tea)


Hairydude with his back to the camera in the nine seat. Defintely his most flattering angle.


Greg from the Wabash couldnt make it, so his friend also from the Wabash played for him. I cant remember his name, but he is a solid player. That's him shuffling.

Some random photos

Cincinnati Club Festival: Team Event Pictures Continued

Cincinnati Festival

Today is the opening day of the Cincinnati Club poker festival. Looking forward to it. I have not played live in awhile and I am anxious to get back to the felt rather then sit at my computer. (I do love playing online, dont get me wrong, just a nice change is all).

Tonight's event is the team event, and I am on a pretty strong team. There is me, Timaloy, hairydude, cambo, and craig from the Wabash. (These are all names from the Blondepoker.com forum) so I think we have a good shot. With twenty four teams the tourney is packed and fergus8 (the tourney director and also on Blondepoker.com forum) has done a good job organising it.

The format is simple. Every player is put at a table of ten players. Every table will have representatives from different teams and no team members will play on the same table. Each player begins with 5000 chips and a SnG commences. When a winner from each table is crowned points are awarded to each team. A win for each player is worth 15 points to his team, second place 10 points...all the way doen to eighth, ninth, and tenth which are negative points for your team. After all the tables are through, the team with the most points advances to the final. The next top 6 teams go to the semifinals while the other teams are eliminated. Second place through seventh place then play another SnG with a member from each team at each table. However, instead of starting out with even chip stacks, the teams are given stacks based upon their finish in the earlier SnG. Second place team members will get 8000 chips to begin their tables, third place 7000, fourth place 6000 etc. The team that ends up with the most points out of this round advances to the final. The final is five games heads-up against the winners from the first SnG. The team that wins three or more wins.

The entry fee for each team is £210, or £42 per player. The first place team will receive £3000 (£600 per member) while second place will receive £1500 (£300 per member).

I could do with £600! Especially as that would allow me to play Friday's comp (£75 freeze) and maybe even Sunday's main event. Although at £200 for the main event I would have to feel pretty confident to put that amount on one tourney.

Heres to hoping

PS I played three SnG's last night. One $25 turbo and two $15 turbos. I got third in the $25 and a third in a $15. I was chipleader in the third place $15 turbo and four handed I put a medium stack all in with JJ. He called with AQ and hit an ace. He shouldn't have called for his life, but he did and won. C'est la vie

Pokerstars balance - $453.01

Ahem...ermm Part II

Played last night for a litte while. Played mainly the $15 turbos. Was sucked out on quite a bit, which wasn't cool. I ended up finishing $4 dollars down which is basically even. I am tired of playing for a lenghty period of time and not showing any results for the past two days so I have come to the conclusion that I need some change. A challenge so to speak. I think I may play a ladder system and see where it takes me.

I will play a $6 turbo. If I win or get second place, I will jump to the next turbo level, the $15. If I win or get second, I jump to the $25 turbos, the $55 and so on. I find that I have no great desire in winning a $15 turbo based on the fact that I have won them before. However, if I knew a positive result could mean jumping to a $25 and beyond, I think I would. We'll see how it goes. I think I will try tonight.

Heres to hoping

Ahem...ermm

Played last night and went from $506 to $443. Did not play the way I was the day before. Wrong frame of mind going into the SnG's, my 'show up and win' mentality was going strong and I should have identified that. Unfortunately I didnt.

I am upset that I lost but upbeat in how I buckled down and finished strong.


Tonight I want to top $600.

Here's to hoping.

I Bought A New Computer

I bought a new computer last night online. It should be here in a week or so. Mine busted a little while ago (the pixels were shot) and I needed one badly as the fiancee was sick and tired of sharing.

I was gonna buy another windows machine, I was looking at a compaq C350, but after looking at different laptop reviews online and talking to some tech whiz friends, I think Apple is for me.

Here is the one I chose: Mac Book (the one in the middle) The details of the machine show it to have an 80 gig hard drive, but I upgraded to the 120 gig. I know what many people are thinking, "AN APPLE! But no more poker!". No that is not true. You can install windows onto a Mac and play poker very easily. There is a program called Boot Camp which is available for free on the net and is designed for exactly that. I plan on having poker sites and pretty much nothing else on my windows as I am sick of viruses and spyware. There are no viruse or spyware on a Mac. I am looking forward to that. Plus, with a mac I get ilife, which is a series of five sick programs which are incredible. Imovie, idvd, garageband, iphoto, and itunes (I know not really worth mentioning as its free but whatever). These programs allow me to make dvds, do some crazy stuff with music and photos, and basically have fun. I am also looking at taking my blog further as a Mac easily makes videoblogging and podcasts very simple. I am especially looking forward to that.

Along with my new computer I bought a new 80 gig video ipod. I have wanted one of these for awhile as I often see some of my students with them, and they look very cool. My current ipod is a 6 gig mini and I pretty much have it full to the brim with music. This sucks because I want to start listening to more podcasts such as cardplayer's 'The Circuit' and Phil Gordons 'Expert Insight'. Plus with a Mac, my ipod will be set to download all these podcasts automatically, making it much easier then hunting them down on my fiancee's machine.

I can't wait for them to arrive. In the meantime, I am hoping the success in the $15 turbos continues.

Heres to hoping