Whoops

Played 3 games tonight.  Two $5 STT's and one $3 MTT's.  Played well in parts but ultimately made bad decisions at crucial times that saw me miss a payout in each game.

I also had half an eye on the footy and didn't concentrate fully and it showed.  My bankroll is now at $47.

I have also decided to manage my bankroll a bit better at the moment I am just choosing any old games.

My first target is $100, until I reach this milestone I think I am going to limit myself to $3 STT's.  Once I get their I will then re-assess the situation.

The lesson today is, if you are going to play poker, play properly and don't mess about trying to watch the footy as well, sometimes I am my own worst enemy.

Update

Since my last post I have increased my bankroll to $61.  This is due to a 3nd place finish in an STT and a 3rd place finish in an MTT.

In both games I played well and early on in the tourneys trusted my 'gut' instinct and made some good calls and re-raises, however in both cases once the tourney had become short handed and I had been assured of a payout I withdrew into my shell and gradually ebbed my chips away.

I need to be more aggressive at the latter end of the game in order to ensure that my good work early on is rewarded with the maximum payout.

Going well so far, probably won't play for a week or two now though as I have an exam at work looming that I need to study for.

Poker blog has re-re-re-re-(you get the picture) opened

So after a years poker sabbatical, in which I have hardly played any poker at all due to the demands and joys of fatherhood I am back.

I invested $20 into pokerstars and have been playing STT's. I have now got $47, so my bankroll (if you can call it that yet!) has doubled in under a week, so a respectable start to my poker comeback.

On a side note I am 30 today, so as I am now an old git I have also decided to take up golf as my creaking bones and joints cannot take more energetic pursuits such as football or for my american fans soccer!! So now I have taken up two of most frustrating games - golf and poker.

Soon I will be going bald as well as going grey.

Onwards and jolly well upwards - tally ho!

Furious!!!!

Tonight I entered a £4 nl 180 mtt on stars. I played very well and was 4th in chips with 11 players left. I was dealt K 9 suited and called a min raise from a loose player pre flop. The flop arrived 9 high and the chap who raised pre-flop bet out again. He had been doing this a lot. Thinking I was ahead I raised and was re-raised I went all in. We had about equal chips but he had slightly more than me meaning if he called and lost he had less than $100 left. So the call was for his tourney.

He called with K Q off. To make it clear he had no draws. His only outs where runner runner J 10 for a straight or hitting a Queen I thought brilliant!!! Until he rivered a Queen and because he had me covered I was out. Unbelievable!!!!!! That meant I had played for around 3 hours for a $4 profit. That pot would have seen me comfortably chip leader.

I am absolutely livid. If i get out played and lose a hand then fair play but to go out like this stinks. I had around an 85% of winning the hand on the flop and around a 93% of winning after thr turn.

Its all the more galling because I had played very well and was comfortably above average chips throughout.

I am off to boot the dog!!!!!

aaaaaarrrrrrrrrrgggghhhhhhhhh

Poker Blog has reopened!!!!

The news you have all been craving. My poker blog is now reopened. I have a starting balance of $20 on Poker stars and i am going to turn into in a small fortune.

Yippe-ki-yay motherf*ckers

Poker Blog is Closed

Due to the recent birth of my daughter Isabel (above) and all that comes with fatherhood I have for the meantime suspended my poker activities and also my poker blog.

Regards

On the Up!

I logged onto stars again yesterday for a $5 stt which I won bringing my bankroll up to $80 so a decent start to the year so far.

Again I played very solidly and kept 100% concentration and to be honest I felt comfortable all the way through. When I play properly and concentrate I am quick to pick up betting patterns that my opponents display giving me the upper hand when it comes to me bluffing people off pots. At the same time I mixed my play up nicely giving no real indication of what I was holding.

Bankroll: $80

Back to the Grind!!!

Well I haven't played any poker for almost a month now and so I was a bit rusty when I logged back onto Poker Stars and with my bankroll at $50 I know I am in for a long hard slog!!!

So it was back to the tables, playing from my newly decorated dining room on my laptop. My first 2 $5 stt’s where a complete nightmare with me playing like a complete novice, getting involved in too many hands and trying to bluff bad players off pots they had a piece of. After crashing out of both of these in 6^th and 5^th position respectively I decided to get back to some good old fashioned ‘tight aggressive’ play. It paid dividends too with me building up a big chip lead early on in my next game and going on to win courtesy of some good play and reads once heads up.

The turning point was when I had 4.5k in chips and my opponent had 9k (or so). He had been raising a lot and I had seen nothing but junk for a while. I was on the big blind and he raised to 600 with the blinds 75/150. I held 3,4 spades and thought I would flat call and hope to either get a piece of a low flop or have a draw on the flop. Duly the flop came down 3, 5, 7 and he bet half the pot. I immediately pushed in and he called flipping K, J of clubs. Fortunately he missed on the turn and the river and a couple of hands later I won after hitting a straight on the flop when he had top pair.

Bankroll: $57

Back to Square One!!!!

So again I haven't really posted much recently. I got my laptop back within 8 days and was very impressed with the prompt service I received from ACER.

With it being so close to Xmas and because I have been decorating the lounge and dining room, I haven’t played much poker.

I did however make one massive decision ‘poker-wise’ and that was to cash in my bankroll. I spoke to several of my friends about this and the majority where in absolute agreement that there was no point letting Pokerstars cream the interest from my winnings and with my ‘roll up $440 I should maybe invest the profits in me!

So that’s what I did.

I went out and bought an X-Box, reducing my bankroll back to $50.

AND I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!!!!!!

Been playing online footy against my bro who has also bought one and been running round shooting loads of yanks and frogs, so it’s all good!!!

On the poker side my bankroll is at $42.50 and I have decided that every year after Xmas I will cash out all my profit above $50.

Back to the grind…………….

Patience

I still have my laptop, although it shall be winging its way back to ACER on Monday courtesy of DHL.

Last night I played 2 $10 stt’s and got a payout in neither, the first one was just bad play the 2^nd I was unlucky. On two occasions I called an all in from the short stack, once with AK and once with AQ , both times I was up against very small under pairs and both times the pairs held up. This left me short and I eventually was forced in with an Ace but got beaten by a better kicker.

This morning I again played 2 stt’s the first I didn’t get paid and the second one a won. Meaning my bankroll has gone up by a whopping $1 (4*$11 = $44, 1^st prize = $45). More importantly this has given me the 500 fpp’s that I needed to gain my ‘Road to WSOP 2006’ $120 bonus, my bankroll is now $486 which for a $50 start back in march is a fine achievement.

Going back to the stt’s, I need to display more patience in the early stages of these games and not try get involved in too many pots early on when I don’t have either position or a good hand. Harking back to the tourney I wrote up where my connection failed, I made the final three no problems and I was ‘sat out’ for most of that game and that’s the attitude I need to display. Too often I am giving myself a disadvantage by playing too loose too early. My new ethos has to be to play as tight as a rock early on and let my opponents knock each other out. It’s so hard to bluff anyone early on in tournaments at this level and often I will see people calling someone down all the way with bottom pair so the best thing is to just play good solid poker and then get a bit creative at the latter stages of a tourney.

Bankroll: $486.04

Playing Live and Faulty Drives

After my successful weekend that pushed me over the $400 I quickly set about going back below it with some bad play and a rashness that has seen me constantly risking too many of chips early on in tourneys, refusing to fold in situations that scream I am behind.

Anyhow, enough about internet play I hosted a live game at my mum and dad's on Monday evening, my living room is being decorated presently and with my parents in Australia it made sense to use their 'gaff'. We played a 5 way £10 stt with 25 minute blinds and a starting stack of 1500 chips. The structure worked well and after a timid start the game really got going. I played fairly tight early on but made moves when the time was right even though I had poor hands for most of the game.

As the blinds went up the tournament turned into an 'all in' bonanza, with just about everyone apart from me getting involved. I must here mention my mates brother Brian who had his Kings busted by 6, 7 off with his opponent hitting quad 6's and then in the very next hand he had Jacks busted by 8's despite hitting a Jack on the flop, the next two cards were 8, 8!!!! Unbelievable.

A shout out must here go to my mate and fellow blogger Neil Ross who managed to bust pocket kings with AJ with only 2 live aces in the deck, he then busted kings again with 88 as described above and later he out drew pocket 9's with 8 2 by making a set of deuces!!!!!!! Losing any of the above situations would have seen him back off to Liverpool, so he was a very lucky boy!

In stark contrast to the rest of the table I didn’t really get that involved in any big showdowns due in the main part to not getting any hands and on the rare occasions I did get a hand nobody wanted to play me. However I gradually built my chip stack and eventually me and Neil ended up heads up with me a massive leader. Eventually with Neil getting short holding Q 10 he pushed and i called with A 4 and hit a set of Aces. The £30 profit will come in handy!!!!!

Finally tonight I won a $10 stt with some CONTROLLED aggressive play and this will probably prove to be my last game for a while as the CD drive on my laptop has given up, meaning I have to return it to the good people at ACER to repair. The turnaround time is approx 10 days so hopefully should have it back before Xmas but knowing how these things pan out I am not holding my breath.

Bankroll $365 (plus £30 from my live game that I haven’t deposited yet!)

Movin' on up!

After seemingly being stuck at around $250 for what seemed an absolute age I have finally surpassed not only the $300 mark but the $400 one too!!

After my bankroll sank to around $230 I decided to give MTT's a whirl this past weekend. I finished fourth in one bagging a profit of $23 and then i finished 2nd in a 180 seat $4 buy in, this earned me $144.

My bankroll is now at $407.

Onwards and upwards.

Bad beats, bad play and the weirdest game of poker I have experienced so far!

Greetings,

I'll start with the bad beats; now i havent played much poker at all recently and the few games i have played have been destroyed by ridiculous bad beats. In which early on in tournaments i have got all my chips in with a hand that is a massive favourite only to suffer defeat.

Example 1 : I have A 8 off suit and am on the big blind, its folded round to the small blind who flat calls, thinking i have the best hand i raise and get flat called. The flop duly arrives 8 high, think it was (8, 2, 5). Small blind bets at the pot, i figure having played so passively pre-flop, he hasnt got a hand. I raise him and he responds by going all in - I am convinced given the way he had been playing he had nothing so i call. He flips over A 7, i think yes, that is until the turn and river are 4 & 6 respectively giving him a straight - out and gutted.

Example 2: I have A Q and put in a pre flop raise around 3 times the big blind and get one caller. The flop comes down Q x x - great i think and get a bet in, again I am re-raised all my chips, again i think i am ahead so call. My opponent turns over Q 6 and has no draws at all. The turn comes down 6 and i am out again - Gutted!!!

Now its only 2 bad beats but I have only played 4 games in about the last two weeks so 50% of them have ended this way!!!

My third game ended again in an early exit but this time it was my fault I raised pre-flop with AK and was flat called I missed the flop and put in a continuation bet as the flop looked harmless - i was flat called, i probably should have checked the turn but again bet and was flat called. The river came down and it didnt help, i bet out again (doh!) and the over guy lumped all his chips is - it was only another 300 to call so I called. He flipped over a pair of 3's and took it down. He had called all my bets despite this being the first hand i had been involved in and despite 5 overcards on the board. Ok I played the hand pretty bad but I figure so did he but as the saying goes you cant bluff a bad player, it was also i reminder that AK isnt a made hand!!

Now I have just played and won one of the most bizarre and frustrating Stt's i have ever played in. My connection was sluggish from the start but once i got into the game it was constantly dropping, the first time this has ever happened to me on stars. I was disconnected for ages and whn i finally got back on i had just over 1k in chips BUT there was only 3 other players, this soon became 3 and ensured me a payout. The connection picked up for the next 10 mins or so and I managed to get into the final to and build up a chip lead heads up before i was disconnected yet again. When i got back on the chip counts where almost level and few hands later I won the tourney with trip 3's!!!!

Maybe from now on I will enter tourney's and just sit out, seems I get more success that way - let the idiots knock each other out and that way I dont suffer any bad beats!!!

Bankroll: $271.02

Another belated update........

Ok so 6 months on from the start of my quest to make some big bucks from playing poker here is the state of play:

My bankroll started at $50 and is now standing at a mighty $251.78!

Now there are two ways to look at this, the first that my monthly profit from playing poker is a whopping $33.63 which doesnt sound so great. The second way of looking at it is that in 6 months i have incresed my bankroll by 500%.

I have been mainly playing STT's, the majority of which have been $5 so its been a grind to get where i am particularly as I only play 3-4 games per week at the minute. What i want to start doing is playing the $10 games or using my fellow blogger Neil Ross' steps systme that allows you to play higher stake games buy using winnings from lower stake games you have played.

Hopefully of the next few months my bankroll will increase in a more rapid manner as i implement the 'steps; system into my game.

two months on........

Two months on from my last update things are going very well. I have now amassed a bankroll of $209. I have played a succession of STT's and MTT's lately have been paid out in nearly every single one.

I am paying much more attention to the action at the table particularly betting patterns of my opponents, i have also put more fauth in my own jusgement meaning that when i think i am ahead i am willing to stick all my chips in the middle and either live or die by my decisions.

Thankfully i am getting 8 or 9 out of 10 of these spot on.

Long may it continue

A belated update.....

My bankroll has now just nudged over the $100 mark ($127 if you include the $27 i am owed).

I have started playing a lot more aggressively and generally rasing more, pre flop. The other thing I have started doing recently is trusting my gut reaction to a situation. Too many times recently i have folded or laid down a hand when my initial reaction had been to do otherwise, only for the hand to play out and for my gut instinct to have been proved right.

I good example of this was when I flopped middle pair after my opponent had raised pre flop from the button, he then bet again post flop - I didnt feel he had anything so went massively over the top of him and he laid it down.

Anyway I am gradually increasing my bankroll, its hard work but I feel i am getting there.

A poker sermon

I havent posted anything for a while so i thought i would write a little piece on poker theory but first I will give you a bankroll update.

My bankroll on poker stars is now at $86 (+$27) have had some good solid results in the past day or two following a mini-slump.

I have somewhat tweaked my style of play, I am probably raising less pre-flop then ever before. When i say that I dont mean the amount of times I raise but the amount of chips that I raise by. I find this helps me get away from hands as I have not committed too much pre-flop. For example with AK i might just bring in a minimum raise from any position. If i am re-raised depending on the player I may call or re-raise but I am trying to get away from putting too many chips in pre-flop. I am also trying to keep my raises at similar amounts. If I miss the flop with my AK then I know that I dont have to put in a bet to try and win the pot because the pot is still small and I have not over-committed pre-flop so I can just ditch it if my opponents bet at me. If i hit I will continue to bet at it, if there is a draw on i will make sure I make them pay to see a card.

The main thing I am trying to avoid is going all in early on or committing too many chips in early hands against maverick style players and then busting out and getting outdrawn - I figure if I play nice and tight, keep my bets to the same sort of size regardless of my hand then this gives me plenty of options on the flop - if I miss the flop and have no draws etc I can get away from my hand, if i either make my hand or have a draw I will then bet out.

Crazy Bluffs

This is another part of my game I have tried to tone down - I dont bluff anymore, period. What i will do is bet with outs, for example if I think someone has hit top pair on the flop but gives me some draws I will get involved - all the time tho what I am aiming to do is not over commit to this draw - if he makes a minimum bet i will flat call it - at this level he will call a re-raise with his top pair so there is no point over commiting. If i then hit my draw I can then turn the screw knowing he will pay me with his top pair.

I am finding that by betting small pre-flop it doesnt tie me down after the flop, after all its easier to get away from a pot that you have flat called the BB or min raised in then the same hand/flop but having significantly raised into. All this boils down to me being confidently being able to have a good idea on whether I may be ahead or what my opponent is betting with.

Poker Indicator

Poker Indicator can be found here and is my new best friend. I dont so much use the hand odds and pot odds but the opponent stats, this is a handy tool that allows me to know exactly how many times my opponents had seen the flop and the turn and river and how many showdowns they have won.

It makes your Ace Jack look pretty strong when your pre-flop raise is called and then someone who has seen 80% of flops and only won 40% of showdowns bets the ace on the flop. The aim is obviously to read the players myself and I feel i am getting better at this. Conversely if you have pocket rockets and the player who has only seen 7% of flops makes a big pre-flop raise before you, you can make a big re-raise knowing that he himself has got a big hand and you may well get yourself a customer.

It is an excellent tool probably the best I have seen as a table companion.

Onwards and upwards!!

Update

Not played so much recently, my bankroll on Poker Stars is at $68, although i am owed $27 by myself due to the shenanigans involved with the extra deposit bonus. Generally my play has been sound, let down by a couple of games I played at the weekend when hungover and knackered following a heavy night.

A Good Week

I started the week on $63 and ended it on $79 that isnt the whole story though, because of the complicated way I have had to deposit $600 into poker stars and then withdraw it to be eligible for a bonus offer they are running, my bankoll is owed $27.

Bankroll: $106

Quick out of the blocks.............

This made me laugh, this was the first hand of a $5 stt.......................

PokerStars Game #4397786285: Tournament #21868891, Hold'em No Limit - Level I (10/20) - 2006/03/24 - 15:06:12 (ET)
Table '21868891 1' 9-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: dastep (1500 in chips)
Seat 2: guzzano (1500 in chips)
Seat 3: timeflight (1500 in chips)
Seat 4: popcorn225 (1500 in chips)
Seat 5: bilyboybanjo (1500 in chips)
Seat 6: D3Balla07 (1500 in chips)
Seat 7: jcole13 (1500 in chips)
Seat 8: nickz1226 (1500 in chips)
Seat 9: Garntea (1500 in chips)
guzzano: posts small blind 10
timeflight: posts big blind 20
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bilyboybanjo [6d 6s] --------------------- ME!
popcorn225: calls 20
bilyboybanjo: calls 20
D3Balla07: raises 20 to 40
jcole13: folds
nickz1226: folds
Garntea: folds
dastep: calls 40
guzzano: calls 30
timeflight: calls 20
popcorn225: calls 20
bilyboybanjo: calls 20
*** FLOP *** [6h Jd 2d]
guzzano: checks
timeflight: checks
popcorn225: checks
bilyboybanjo: bets 60
D3Balla07: raises 60 to 120
dastep: calls 120
guzzano: calls 120
timeflight: calls 120
popcorn225: calls 120
bilyboybanjo: raises 1340 to 1460 and is all-in
D3Balla07: calls 1340 and is all-in
dastep: calls 1340 and is all-in
guzzano: folds
timeflight: folds
popcorn225: calls 1340 and is all-in
*** TURN *** [6h Jd 2d] [Qh]
*** RIVER *** [6h Jd 2d Qh] [9s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
popcorn225: shows [Jh 9c] (two pair, Jacks and Nines)
bilyboybanjo: shows [6d 6s] (three of a kind, Sixes)
D3Balla07: shows [Ah Js] (a pair of Jacks)
dastep: shows [Ad Td] (high card Ace)
bilyboybanjo collected 6320 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 6320 | Rake 0
Board [6h Jd 2d Qh 9s]
Seat 1: dastep (button) showed [Ad Td] and lost with high card Ace
Seat 2: guzzano (small blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 3: timeflight (big blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 4: popcorn225 showed [Jh 9c] and lost with two pair, Jacks and Nines
Seat 5: bilyboybanjo showed [6d 6s] and won (6320) with three of a kind, Sixes
Seat 6: D3Balla07 showed [Ah Js] and lost with a pair of Jacks
Seat 7: jcole13 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: nickz1226 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: Garntea folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Sweet!