Wednesday, May 31, 2006

SELECT MAX(PAIN) FROM CARDS;

Double chance didn't even give me one chance. I played thia last night and there was a decent turnout or about 70 players. I got off to a good start winning the first hand but sadly that was to be my nadir. My steals preflop got reraised a couple of times, I had to lay down top pair (Q) K kicker in the face of bets from an aggressive but good player, and played a hand nearly right,but ultimately wrong. On a limped pot 4 seen a flop. I was on the button and it was checked to me on a board of J63 with 2 hearts. I bet 2/3 the pot (I have none of it) and got one quick caller. Flush draw thought I. This being my thinking I somehow managed to contrive to check the turn behind when the 4 of clubs arrived. River brought another non heart and I bet again more than half the pot when it was checked to me. Of course I was called by missed flush draw and 4th pair which was good (9h4h). I messed that hand by not betting the turn which I knew myself and was said to me as well just after the break by another player. It is the things like that that I hjave stopped doing properly lately. It would be churlish of me to just blame the cards for my bad run as even though I know I play well in fits and starts, there is no consistency to my game, and I am bottling out of making the right decisions because I must subconsciously think 'there is no way I will win no matter what I do'.

No wonder I have Eeyore as my avatar on boards. Apt on 2 fronts.

1. I am a donkey
2. I am pessimistic

Anyways, after the failure of that bluff I was never presented with an opportunity to get chips. I stole blinds a couple of times, but never had a had where I wanted a caller despite needing one. I did get a caller though when I opened all in with 62. I lost surprisingly. 5 levels of poker and not one pocket pair of any size. I had AKo once and AJs once. I also had KQs once but way out of position. These are the only decent hands I got. The main problem I have with the double chance game is that there are never really enough chips to make plays, especially when the game is populated by guys who like middle or bottom pair too much to let you win with a bluff. It is all very well saying 'wait til you get a big hand then you will take their chips'. This never even close to happening.

I may or may not play the scalps game on Friday. I definitely will not play in the CityWest this weekend as apart from being an extremely awkward location for a carless person such as I currently am, I cannot justify spending between 300-3000 on tournaments at the moment. Ah well. Hopefully if Forest Gump was on the right tracks I have eaten all the coffee creams by now and am coming into the turkish delights (my personal favourites - they are either love em or hate em) now.

Monday, May 29, 2006

On and On and On and Ariston.........

Ho Hum. It is official. May is now the worst recorded month (records since August and at least a few before that) ever, and possibly beyond records.

It is rigid game selection for me for a while though, I think double chance Tuesday and Friday scalps it seems, with no cash games. I know runs come and runs go, but this one seems particularly depressing. I have still had a few (very few though by my standards) final tables and cashes but they are generally minor placings so no advance.

One good thing about this is that I have to get more creative with my cards but considering some of the players who play in the Fitz tournies though bluffing can be a very expensive way to get involved in a hand. Lately big pairs get no action, I rarely flop big, and my big draws miss.

I did not intend this blog to be a vehicle for moaning and I hope it does not pan out that way over the long term. Anyways, onto the weekends poker action.

On Friday evening I left work to go into the Gresham Hotel to play a satellite for the 500 game in there that evening. I registered for a 2 ticket 100+5 satellite and their was a fairly tough line up at the table considering. People I knew(or knew of) were, Collette (Smurph), Dave Masters, Phil Harris, Tom Nolan (split the Fitz end of month 2 days earlier), and the inimitable player known to me only as Chief Brody (not a name I assigned to him, yet apt) from the Sporting Emporium.

It started out very slowly for me but I stole a few pots and then eventually took out the player in 4th place with JT vs 99. With 3 of us left and 2 tickets I was very confident having about 13000, Dave Masters about 14000 and Collette only about 3000 left. At this stage I was sure between us we would be able to take Collette out but once she doubled up via Dave and started stealing blinds with a more damaging stack eventually I called her all in bet with a suited K (terrible play but I was in gamble mode). She had AJ and it held up. This put me down to about 6k and Collette up to around 12k then. Next hand I pushed from the SB into Collettes BB with J8 suited. She called with KQo. I hit my straight on the turn but Collette hit a 4 flush on the river to knock me out. The most annoying thing is that I was te only one of the 3 of us who did not have a ticket. I don't know how I managed to keep it that way. No Gresham game for me then.

The next day I went to the Fitz for satellites for their 500 game, and again I was going well in the first satellite I played but lost a race to exit in 3rd. If I had won that I would have been all but heads up against an inexperienced palyer holding a big chip lead for the ticket. I played another sat and after being early chip lead I ran 77 into AA and then lost a race the next hand to be sent to the rails. I was annoyed with myself. To compound all this I went home and played some 1/2 Pot Limit Omaha and managed to lose an $800 pot with AAQQds when I flopped top set and nut flush draw on a Q73 board only to lose to runner runner flush (he had top 2 and backdoor draw when he pushed after my pot bet on the flop). Ouch. To bed with me.

Sunday I played the €40 rebuy game. I had €55 credit left so paid the entry with this and had a whole tenner left over for a rebuy/topup. I had a limit set in my head of 125 but knew if needed I would go to 165. However, things worked out fairly well. I got AA twice during the first 2 levels, but didnt get paid too well with them, I flopped a set of 8's after calling an all in bet vs AQ. I was also mixing my play up well and making some timed reraises. At this point I was happy with my play and up to about 8k from a start of 2k. Then came a hand when I convinced myself to do the wrong thing - twice. I held Q9 in the BB and checked to a flop of QJ9. I bet 3/4 pot and got one caller who looked like he was going to reraise. This guy was someone I have seen occasionally and is not a sophisticated player at all. He is the type who thinks about raising by handling lots of chips without realising that this is saying he has a big hand. I still ignored my own head though and check called turn and river blanks. I declare 2 pair and he says flush. I kindly point out that there is no flush on the board and he goes oh sorry, straight and turns over 8T and points out how he thought he had flopped a straight flush on a board with 2 Hearts and 1 Diamond. As I said to him, "as long as you know you have something I suppose". I was pissed off with myself more than his misdeclaration at this though. This cost me a few thousand and I won 1 more pot before the break to take me to 5k and with the 4k topup I was in ok shape, especially since I did not rebuy and only had to contribute 30 for my topup.

After the break I won a decent pot with 88 leading preflop, flop and turn on a board of J627. Chips went in on turn with him having floped a flush draw with K7d and turn a pair. My 88 held up though, and up to 11.5k for a healthy stack with blinds at 75/150 only. Then a few minutes later I got moved table and despite seeing AK on my first hand on that table I could not get a hand. 68o, 79o and Q2o are the very frequent hands I seen on this table. I moved in a few times but never got a caller. Any hands I tried to get creative on always backfired with players making moves just before I could do anything. Cards are very frustrating at times and not helped when most hands involving a 60-90 second dwell up (or longer). None by me though as my decisions were all easy. Seeing others turn over KK, AA, QQ etc at least let me know that the good cards were in the pack somewhere!!!!!! I was feeling good about my game and there were a couple of bad players and one or 2 bluffers as well so there were chips available should the opportunity present itself but it never did. I must reintroduce myself to opportunity though as I have a feeling the bitch has deleted my number and got a restraining order.

Oh ya, eventually I got KQs suited in the BB and the SB who tried to raise but failed (how hard is it to double 2??? Why try to minraise a shortstack??? Cause he is a bad player) called my allin for 9k at 1k/2k with AK and I got no reprieve. Adios. 1.35am and 14th. At least I read Olly and Gavin split it, and not the muppets. Well played lads, good to see good players getting the dosh.

I think the DC game tomorrow in the Fitz will be my next game, but who knows. I am in the process of buying an apartment and spent 2k on the weekend on couches and a bed so I need to save and earn money even though I am financewise a bit more would not go astray. As stated though cash games are def out for a while. I may just play more MTT's online as they are cheaper and might keep me out of trouble.

Soon maybe............

Monday, May 22, 2006

Silly game this anyways.......

Well there it is. Poker. What a bitch. It is nearly 3 weeks since I updated this blog and I have been on a bit of a streak, and not a good one really. The only positive result was in the saturday round of each tourney 2 weeks ago when I got third, and even then I lost most of that in a cash game.

The issue is not just bad beats, or bad play or bad cards, but a frustrating combination of all 3.

Here are 2 examples that I played properly (open to comment) but that both worked out wrong, and both from the scalps tournie, but different weeks.

First example is JJ in the cutoff. Blinds are just gone up to 800-1500 and I have approx 15k. UTG, not too long at the table, only seen one or two strong all in hands not called, goes all in for approx 8k. This I was calling. Before it gets to me a player very newly arrived to the table who I was not familiar with say call instantly, and puts all his chips in (15k) but he declared call so only 8k stays in. What to do? The recent blind increase had just cut my stack to 10BB, but with a full round of the table that wasn't on it's own enough. I thought about it and figured that I was at best against overcards, at worst a big dog. I laid it down with a bit of disgust as I had flopped quad Jacks about 10 mins earlier so I was fond of them at that point. First all in had AJ, second had AQ, double paired, low board meant a split that I would have taken. Just to clarify my decision was all in or fold, never contemplating call with my stack and a flat caller of the raise. It was the instant decision of the guy who turned out to have AQo that really was the clincher here. There were about 18 players on 2 tables left at this point. I know it was the right decision really given the action but it still rankles that I made the right decision when no reads were available and I would have nearly trebled up taking the blinds into account. Ah well. I didn't last much longer.

The next weeks tournament and this is the situation. TT in 3rd position. Blinds are 50/100, near the end of the second level. I had just rebought when my overcards and flush draw missed so I had exactly 3k. Action folded to me and I make it 400 to go. Guy to my left, first time in the Fitz, but had played before it seemed (hadn't made many moves) went all in for 1575. BB think and calls and it is decision time for me. Here is my thinking at this point.

1. I could fold and be left with 2600 and the blinds coming up soon, but they are still low so no matter.
2. I could flat call and evaluate leaving about half my stack to play with.
3. I could push and get a sidepot going with BB flat caller who I felt had over cards.

I went with option 3 and got called after a short think. Imagine my surprise when I turned over my TT to find 99 to my left and 77 in the BB. Happy days!!!! Jason in seat 1 had thrown a 7 in too so 3 cards to avoid, only one of which will knock me out, the other will put lose me 100 in this pot. Flop is AK6, turn is another 6 and river is the case 7. Gutted. The outcome is not as important here for thought purposes as the decision. I felt I was behind one player but ahead of the other, albeit him with over cards. I think my decision to go all in here was the right one to get a sidepot or else get a 2-1 shot (if BB folded) at either overcards or overpair (not sure whether my read percentages make this worthwhile or not). I may actually post this one boards to get opinions........

Cash games are not going well for me either so I am scaling down my poker for a while. I will play the end of month game in the fitz on Wednesday and maybe the Sunday game too as I have 325 credit to use, but I will not be comitting much of my own lolly to it. And no cash games I repeat.

I cannot make up my mind one one important issue in Omaha. Is it better to call a bet with no improvers when you have the nuts on the flop/turn to see what the next card brings (which could minimise profits and also losses) or raise this spot (which could maximise both profits and also losses). Usually I go with the second approach but lately I have been getting raped with this approach. People calling either with draws that hit or calling/reraising with the same hand and improvers and hitting. I know the short answer to this question is 'it depends' and the long answer is probably just a longer version of 'it depends' but it frustrates the hell out of me.

I cannot remember the last time in either tournament or cash when the deck hit me in the face. I can't believe it is only a couple of months since I had 9 winning cash sessions in a row. It seems like years. At least I get to whinge about it anyways.

Wednesday, May 03, 2006

Treading Water

I have played a few times in the last week. Not an awful lot to say about it, I won as much as I lost pretty much. I got myself into and then out of a big hole last Friday night, and over the weekend I was in the Fitz until closing on 2 nights.

The main thing that annoyed me about the weekend is the one occasion when I misread the board and was convinced when I had the nut flush and confidently put my money into the pot, when infact I only had the second nuts. I realised this as soon as I took my hand off the money, which was obviously too late at that point. I felt like banging my head off a wall. Instead I reloaded and things improved.

I also played a 'home' game on Sunday night with a few lads that I know from the Fitz and I couldn't get going, even when the switch was made to Omaha (briefly anyways) of which I was 1 of only 3 people there I think who are comfortable at playing Omaha for cash. One of the draws that I missed in particular was particularly mystifying (up to 23 outs twice I counted).

Ah well. I also played the league final in the Fitz and as per usual an accommodating deal was done and a few of us took 250 each in time for people to play the Monday night tournament which I missed due to the Boards World Cup Sweepstake Tournament which I bombed in too.

I need my poker mojo back.

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