While playing in a 45-player, $26 SNG the other night, I took a moment to study my numbers on officialpokerrankings.com. After clicking a few buttons and sorting my stats several different ways, I realized I was 0-for-7 in $26 tournaments.
A few minutes later I was 0-for-8.
Since I was barely bankrolled for $26 tournaments, it seemed like a good indication that I should take a step back, so I dropped down to the $11 level and scored a good cash right away. (I would have preferred to drop to $22, but those don't seem to fill up very often.)
I'll do my best to kill the $11 SNGs for a while before moving up again.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Not posting … or cashing
Where the heck have I been? Busy. And in Vegas, where I received a fine poker education at the cost of $550. More on that later.
The cast of characters in Vegas was bizarre, as usual. There was the guy from Milan (Italy, not Michigan) who kept pulling chips off the table during a cash game and giving them to his handler.
The guy in the same game who had so little clue about how to play poker that he kept asking the dealer if he could check after others had bet. (Interesting strategy.)
The guy in the same game (what kind of a game did we walk into) who pushed me out of a hand by betting into a dry sidepot (the previous guy, who a fellow poker rate has since dubbed "Check-oslavakia was already all-in) with 4-3 suited (he was playing the board).
The guy in the same game who asked where we were from and responded with an excited "Really?!" only to tell us he was from Utah. When I said, "I've never seen anyone so excited to hear we were from Michigan who had no connection to Michigan," he just sat there and smiled, oblivious to anything I was saying.
Then there was the "Gentleman Assassin," who deserves his own blog post.
The poker didn't go so well. After cashing in an $80 shovefest at Planet Hollywood, I went 0-for-4 the rest of the week. Three of the games had great structures, and I flamed out of all of them stupidly. I also managed to roll through $100 or so online in the first couple nights back.
The cast of characters in Vegas was bizarre, as usual. There was the guy from Milan (Italy, not Michigan) who kept pulling chips off the table during a cash game and giving them to his handler.
The guy in the same game who had so little clue about how to play poker that he kept asking the dealer if he could check after others had bet. (Interesting strategy.)
The guy in the same game (what kind of a game did we walk into) who pushed me out of a hand by betting into a dry sidepot (the previous guy, who a fellow poker rate has since dubbed "Check-oslavakia was already all-in) with 4-3 suited (he was playing the board).
The guy in the same game who asked where we were from and responded with an excited "Really?!" only to tell us he was from Utah. When I said, "I've never seen anyone so excited to hear we were from Michigan who had no connection to Michigan," he just sat there and smiled, oblivious to anything I was saying.
Then there was the "Gentleman Assassin," who deserves his own blog post.
The poker didn't go so well. After cashing in an $80 shovefest at Planet Hollywood, I went 0-for-4 the rest of the week. Three of the games had great structures, and I flamed out of all of them stupidly. I also managed to roll through $100 or so online in the first couple nights back.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Runner. Runner. Done. (Errr.)
Pretty standard preflop with short stacks. After that, there was nothing standard about it.
Stacks:
UTG with 13115
MP with 3550
BTN with 3320
SB with 2065
BB with 4950
Blinds: 150-300
Site: Full Tilt Poker
Dealt to BTN:J♦ A♦
Preflop:
1 players fold.
MP raises to 3,550, and is all in
Hero calls [3,320] [ all-in ]
SB calls [1,915] [ all-in ]
MP shows: 7♦ 7♠
Hero shows: J♦ A♦
SB shows: Q♠ Q♣
1 players fold.
Uncalled bet of 230 returned to MP
Total folds this street: 2
Potsize: 9235
Flop: 10♦ 8♦ 2♦
Potsize: 9235
So I flop the nuts and am about a 95 percent favorite. And then:
Turn: 7♣
Potsize: 9235
River: 7♥
MP shows four of a kind, Sevens
Hero shows a flush, Ace high
MP wins the side pot (2,510) with four of a kind, Sevens
SB shows two pair, Queens and Sevens
MP wins the main pot (6,495) with four of a kind, Sevens
Poker Hand Converter By Cardschat.com Poker Forum
Stacks:
UTG with 13115
MP with 3550
BTN with 3320
SB with 2065
BB with 4950
Blinds: 150-300
Site: Full Tilt Poker
Dealt to BTN:J♦ A♦
Preflop:
1 players fold.
MP raises to 3,550, and is all in
Hero calls [3,320] [ all-in ]
SB calls [1,915] [ all-in ]
MP shows: 7♦ 7♠
Hero shows: J♦ A♦
SB shows: Q♠ Q♣
1 players fold.
Uncalled bet of 230 returned to MP
Total folds this street: 2
Potsize: 9235
Flop: 10♦ 8♦ 2♦
Potsize: 9235
So I flop the nuts and am about a 95 percent favorite. And then:
Turn: 7♣
Potsize: 9235
River: 7♥
MP shows four of a kind, Sevens
Hero shows a flush, Ace high
MP wins the side pot (2,510) with four of a kind, Sevens
SB shows two pair, Queens and Sevens
MP wins the main pot (6,495) with four of a kind, Sevens
Poker Hand Converter By Cardschat.com Poker Forum
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Surrounded by donkeys
Played an 45-person, $11 tournament last night and found myself surrounded by some of the worst poker players in history.
One guy had played 25 tournaments and cashed once. Another guy had played enough to "win" $20,000 yet has never, ever had a winning month online. (Clearly, he has spent much, much more than $20,000 in entry fees.) Then there was the guy who thought A-6 suited was plenty good enough to reraise all-in early in the tournament (then mocked me for folding a hand later in the night) and the guy who called him with a worse hand. There was another guy who late in the tournament reraised post-flop and then called an all-in push with 8-4 suited. There was no eight, no four and only one of his suit when he called. I guess he was counting on runner-runner for a crappy flush.
For a while, I was mad at myself for not being able to take these guys — and the other suspect players — to the cleaners. Really, at one point while playing nine-handed there was really only one player, directly to my left, who I thought knew how to play.
In the end, I did end up cleaning up. First place in that one helped cover for an 0-for-3 effort Monday night and earlier Tuesday. The climb continues.
Current bankroll: $1,290.
OPR ranking: 98.41. (All-time high.)
One guy had played 25 tournaments and cashed once. Another guy had played enough to "win" $20,000 yet has never, ever had a winning month online. (Clearly, he has spent much, much more than $20,000 in entry fees.) Then there was the guy who thought A-6 suited was plenty good enough to reraise all-in early in the tournament (then mocked me for folding a hand later in the night) and the guy who called him with a worse hand. There was another guy who late in the tournament reraised post-flop and then called an all-in push with 8-4 suited. There was no eight, no four and only one of his suit when he called. I guess he was counting on runner-runner for a crappy flush.
For a while, I was mad at myself for not being able to take these guys — and the other suspect players — to the cleaners. Really, at one point while playing nine-handed there was really only one player, directly to my left, who I thought knew how to play.
In the end, I did end up cleaning up. First place in that one helped cover for an 0-for-3 effort Monday night and earlier Tuesday. The climb continues.
Current bankroll: $1,290.
OPR ranking: 98.41. (All-time high.)
Monday, February 9, 2009
Well, not so good. But ...
Ended up 487th and 128th in the Daily Double. Cashed in the second one and almost broke even. Oh, well. The big thing about the Daily Double is if you can break even for a while, sooner or later a big score will come that could make a major difference in the bankroll.
Played an $11, 45-player SNG and a $22, 18-player SNG simultaneously to try to bounce back. Finished ninth in the 18-player after someone sucked out on me, but managed to come back from a short, short stack to win the 18-player, my first cash in a tournament above $11.
This is why a good bankroll is important. Before that cash, I was down almost $70 for the weekend. But since I'm playing within my bankroll, it didn't faze me. And the 18-player SNG paid $144 for first, so now I'm back at an all-time high.
Current bankroll: $1,182.
OPR ranking: No sense in checking until tomorrow after all those games tonight.
Played an $11, 45-player SNG and a $22, 18-player SNG simultaneously to try to bounce back. Finished ninth in the 18-player after someone sucked out on me, but managed to come back from a short, short stack to win the 18-player, my first cash in a tournament above $11.
This is why a good bankroll is important. Before that cash, I was down almost $70 for the weekend. But since I'm playing within my bankroll, it didn't faze me. And the 18-player SNG paid $144 for first, so now I'm back at an all-time high.
Current bankroll: $1,182.
OPR ranking: No sense in checking until tomorrow after all those games tonight.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
So far, so good
Playing the Full Tilt "Daily Double" for the second time in my life. Two simultaneous $12 tournaments with 1,200-plus people in each one.
At the break after one hour, I was 18th in one and 22nd in the other, with about 700 remaining in each one. We'll see how it turns out.
At the break after one hour, I was 18th in one and 22nd in the other, with about 700 remaining in each one. We'll see how it turns out.
A rough night
Sometimes you play horribly and still win. And sometimes you play well and you don't.
Played three tournaments Saturday night, including my first $26 tournament. Totaled $48 in and nothing out.
But here are the hands I went out on:
Tournament one: Ks8c vs. QsJd. I was short stacked but I still got my chips in as a 57-43 favorite. Villain ended up pairing his Q and his J. This would have been a forgettable way to end a tournament if not for the other two tournaments.
Tournament two: AdKc vs. KdQs. This wasn't the final hand, but it crippled me. If I win, I'm in the middle of the pack with three tables left (of five). Villain flopped a gutshot straight draw and turned a Q to win the hand. A bit of a loose raise early for him, I thought. A crazy call of my push, I believe.
Tournament three: AcQs vs. QhTs. Second straight tournament I went out after having someone dominated. Villain pushed from the small blind and I called from the big. He turned a T to knock me out. If I win the hand, I have an average stack nine-handed.
Some nights you want to kick yourself for playing poorly. Other nights, you simply shut the computer off and go to bed. No use losing sleep over taking bad beats as long as you played well.
Current bankroll: $1,080.
OPR ranking: 98.14.
Played three tournaments Saturday night, including my first $26 tournament. Totaled $48 in and nothing out.
But here are the hands I went out on:
Tournament one: Ks8c vs. QsJd. I was short stacked but I still got my chips in as a 57-43 favorite. Villain ended up pairing his Q and his J. This would have been a forgettable way to end a tournament if not for the other two tournaments.
Tournament two: AdKc vs. KdQs. This wasn't the final hand, but it crippled me. If I win, I'm in the middle of the pack with three tables left (of five). Villain flopped a gutshot straight draw and turned a Q to win the hand. A bit of a loose raise early for him, I thought. A crazy call of my push, I believe.
Tournament three: AcQs vs. QhTs. Second straight tournament I went out after having someone dominated. Villain pushed from the small blind and I called from the big. He turned a T to knock me out. If I win the hand, I have an average stack nine-handed.
Some nights you want to kick yourself for playing poorly. Other nights, you simply shut the computer off and go to bed. No use losing sleep over taking bad beats as long as you played well.
Current bankroll: $1,080.
OPR ranking: 98.14.
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