Picture me rolling ...

Including the win in my last game on Thursday night, I've now won 3 of my last 5 games. They were only $3.25 45 mans because I was playing short sessions, but still ... good all the same.

So yes, I just finished a very short, quick session but obviously the results of it were great. Four games played, two wins. The first win was a bit out of nowhere as I really didn't expect it. I failed to double before the final table so went on to it as one of the short-stacks. It was taking ages to lose anyone and I decided to defend my big blind and try to double up against a slightly shorter stack all-in with 8 9 suited. They turned over ace ten off and first card out was the ace, second was an 8 but my hand didn't improve. So I was all-in on my small blind but thanks to someone trying to bluff on the flop, I won and got some chips back. A whole nother orbit went by without losing anyone and someone shoved from mid-position and I was forced to call in the big blind with king jack suited which I obviously didn't mind. He turned over ace rag and I caught a king on the flop and made the flush on the river.

Finally we lost a couple of players and the money bubble burst. I stole the blinds with queen ten off from midposition which moved me in to 3rd place. Not long after that I found myself short-stack until I doubled up with ace king 5 handed. Lost a few more players and I was short-stack 3 handed until I double up twice, the second with 9's against queen ten off. I lost a huge flip with ace queen suited vs pocket 4's (I of course had ace queen) and looked to be gone. Somehow I fought my way back in to it and watched the other two attack each other and I soon found myself heads up but facing a 4:1 chip deficit.

First hand, aces in the big blind ... but the big stack small blind folds ... sick. Funnily enough, it didn't matter as I had them again 3 hands later (after stealing the blinds once) and doubled-up to take the chip lead. Then 3 hands later I had aces AGAIN and delivered the knock-out blow to get the win.

The second win was a lot more straight-forward. I was short-stacked midway through but doubled up with 7's vs ace king and then raised under-the-gun with jacks, got shoved on and decided to call. He turned over aces and luckily for me a jack came on the turn and I was chip-leader. From there I cruised through to the final table, kept the lead in the early going and then got a big stack and sailed in to heads-up with a bit of a chip lead. My opponent seemed fairly aggressive early so I decided to call a small blind shove with king 8 off, he turned over jack ten and thankfully my hand held. That was the turning point and I knocked him out soon after.

So my bankroll is now at US$1212 which is of course an all-time high. My goal yesterday was to get in to the top 2% on OPR, I'm pretty sure that will happen tonight.

Still running good

Haven't been putting in much volume of late but the bankroll is still steadily growing and I think playing less tables at a time is really helping my game. I'm basically playing no more than 3 tables at a time and its been paying off with good results of late.

Tonight was the first time I played since a short session on Monday night. Tuesday I hate a date with a girl I used to play poker with at the Shafston. It went well so we'll see what happens from here. Wednesday is trivia night and we came second again after losing in sudden death last week.

The night didn't start well tonight with a couple of ugly suck-outs in the first couple of $3.25 warm-up games. In my third $6.50 game I had a 3rd place finish which was good but could have been so much better. Three-handed the game was just going around in circles until I defended my big blind with ace 6 off to a small blind shove. Unfortunately he turned over ace 9 suited and caught a 9 on the flop to cripple me. I fought back a little but was knocked out when my aces in the small blind couldn't beat king 8 suited in the big blind.

After grabbing dinner I got a second place in another $6.50 game. I had a good shot at the win against a relatively new player but just went card-dead come heads-up and just got pounded on. I eventually got it in good on the flop but was called and he caught a gut-shot straight on the river for the win.

Thankfully I finished the night with a win in a $3.25 45 man. It was nice to take one down after getting close a couple of times earlier in the night. Three handed again was taking its time but I raised with ace king off on the button, small blind shoved turning over ace 8 and thankfully my hand help up to give me a decent chip lead going in to heads-up. First hand the small blind shoves all-in and I call with ace queen in the big blind. Thankfully my hand holds and its all over straight away.

With 3 strong results tonight and clearing the 2nd Stellar reward on Monday, the bankroll is now just under $1150. I probably won't be playing again until Sunday afternoon, friends place tomorrow night for the AFL, heading to the parents on Saturday and then caddying on Sunday morning.

Greatest comeback EVER!

At the start of January I had a post titled "a win for the ages" but that was nothing compared to what happened two days ago in a $6.50 45 man game on PokerStars.

After losing to 3 4 three-handed I managed to scrape in to second place and faced the seemingly impossible when heads-up started:

Seat 2: CapitalDodge (1860 in chips)
Seat 9: Kstnbike (65640 in chips)

And to add to the challenge, the blinds were already at 1000/2000. I survived my big blind as my 9 high was good enough to win the hand. We split the next pot with the same hand, I then doubled up again with an ace high win and shoved the next hand with ace rag and he folded. Up to 10K and in the big blind I called an all-in with 10 2 suited and sucked out with a ten against queen 2 suited. He didn't like it but I had to take the chance and giving my blind away when it was now at 3000 just didn't make sense.

After pots going back and forth mostly pre-flop the turning point of the match came when I completed the small blind with 7 10 off and saw a 7 10 3 flop ... unfortunately for me all clubs. Villian led out and I decided to shove over the top and take my chances. He called turning over 7 2 off with thankfully NO flush-draw and my hand held. This now gave me a 52K to 15.5K chip lead and I began to whittle him down.

I called an all-in with 7 9 off but his queen 5 caught two pair and the stacks were even again. After coming back from nothing and having a dominant chip-lead, I really didn't want to let this one get away. I took down a large pot when I raised pre with king ten and flopped the open-ended straight draw and pleasingly he check-folded to my strong c-bet. Two hands later I got it in with ace rag against his queen 9 and an ace on the flop sealed the deal and gave me the win.

Coming back from all-in on my first big blind when heads-up started to fighting all the way back, then having a huge chip lead only to see it disappear and then getting the win ... extremely satisfying and definitely the greatest comeback EVER!!

Best win

November was a crap month for me online. My bankroll which had been up over $600 earlier in the year had plateaued for a while and was now dwindling ever lower. When looking at my OPR stats, they weren't that different to my good months, the only things were that I wasn't getting quite the same late % and wasn't getting the same number of wins. I had just one win in October and none in November.

Thankfully, the drought broke for me last week when I won a 45 man game. It was only a $1 buy-in so the cash pay-out wasn't that great but it was a win nonetheless and it was nice to win a heads-up battle again. Not just that, this win was special for the way it happened.

At level 9 with the blinds at 300/600 my stack had dwindled down to just 1800 and basically on life-support. Our table was down to just 5 players and we had a chip-monster who was basically just doing as he wished. He limped from early position, I had ace queen and shoved and with his stack he had no problem calling, turning over 7, 8 suited. He flopped a flush draw, I thankfully found an ace on the turn and just had to fade another diamond on the river which I did. I didn't know it at the time but this monster would be where all my chips would come from.

I survived through to the final table but had just 5 big blinds and there was just one stack shorter than mine. I needed to make top 7 to get paid and if I didn't get a hand quickly I had no shot of winning and I would have to just focus on cashing. I was however completely card-dead and rarely saw picture cards let alone something I could push or even take in to a race vs a raise. My stack was gradually disappearing so with jack ten off under-the-gun I had to push all-in and hope for the best.

My "push" (which was only just more than the big blind) got isolated and then further isolated. I was racing against king jack off and pocket aces ... uh oh. My prayer got answered tho when I hit a gutshot straight draw on the river and more than tripled up.

From there, I continued to get dealt nothing but happily watched on as players fell by the wayside. Down to just 4 players left and my stack was again on life-support and I was eventually forced all-in on the big blind with 2 5 suited ... groan. The chip-monster from earlier in the tournament had 4 times more chips than anyone else at the table, isolated with queen jack off and I was lucky enough to flop two pair and survive.

Shortly after, I called an all-in with ace jack off and the big stack came along for the ride. The initial all-in turned over pocket 7's, the big stack had ace ten, I flopped two pair which was better than the big-stacks two pair and the 7's were eliminated and we were down to just 3 players. I OPR'd the big-stacks form and frankly he was a donkey so I felt confident that if I could get a hand or two he would chip me up.

I got dealt ace king, raised all-in and wasn't surprised to see the big-stack call me but was surprised when he turned over pocket jacks. Classic race scenario but thankfully I flopped a king and held on for the win which got me level in chips with the player in second. A few hands later the big-stack sucked out on him with 5 7 off against pocket 8's and we were heads up. To say that I was in trouble would be an understatement as the chip count was him 59,370 me with 8,130. I needed hands and I needed them quick.

I got a suited ace first hand, had to push and did. I got called by rubbish, flopped two pair and quickly doubled up. Shortly after, he raised solidly from the small blind and I had re-shoved with ace ten off. He called turning over queen 4 suited and I flopped a ten, held up and doubled up again to now be level. It was also good to see what he was raising with and saw that he was doing it light so I knew I could shove any 1/2 decent hand and get paid off.

After I folded a few hands either on the flop or pre, I took a stand with ace 4 off and held up against his king 9 and now had a more than 2.5 chip advantage. From there, I got queens and won a raised pot and then trapped him with kings and the game was over.

I was pumped to get the win and even more pumped to fight back from the depths so many times and take down the victory. There's nothing I hate more than losing to a bad player heads-up so it was nice to get the win despite facing a huge chip deficit at the start of the battle. Sure, I had plenty of luck along the way ... but frankly, its about time.

The win drought is over and I look forward to having a few more in the very near future.

APL - Broadway Hotel

My second week in a row of live poker was on Monday night at the Broadway Hotel. As mentioned last week, I hadn't played APL in ages but after a good showing last week I was keen to do it again and its also a good social activity as a few of my friends play that venue.

Much like last week I was card dead for the first half of the game. I had an entertaining table with a few of my friends on it as well as some active/interesting players to mix it up. There was an older lady next to me that was being aggressive and no one really knew how she was playing because she was getting away with it and not having to show down too many hands. After the break this came to an end when she got busted in a few raised pots betting strong with marginal hands when first to act. Thankfully I got to take advantage of it as she limped the small blind when it was folded around to her and I checked the big blind with king 9 off. One of my friends gave me shit for not being aggressive pre-flop but I was fine with the play since I knew she'd call with most hands. Luckily for me the flop came 4, 7, 9 and she lead out with a bet. Not going to muck around with my hand I re-raised all-in and she ended up calling with jack ten off on the gutshot straight draw. Thankfully she missed and I doubled up knocking her out.

I then started to get some cards and took down a few blinds with them. A little while later I had kings under the gun and took my time deciding how much to raise. Once I decided with 2.5 times I got instantly re-raised all-in by the player next to me and there was a caller from a shorter stack on the other side of the table. I wasn't about to fold and had them both covered so called, turned over my kings much to the pain of the guy next to me who had queens and the other person had jacks. Cold deck for them as the king was the second card out and I took down a massive pot with my set and took out two players at the same time.

Our table was then broken and we were down to 2 or 3 tables left. I got a bit more aggressive on the other table, stole a few blinds and cruised on to the final table with a decent stack. The blinds were quite large by this stage but I drew a good seat starting as the small blind. I took out a shorter stack with queens in the small blind, flopped top set and then rivered a boat. The action on the final table was fast and furious and before I knew it we were down to 4 players. One of my friends took out the other two players who were the shorter stacks by that time and he had a strong chip lead when we got to heads-up.

I took down a couple of the opening pots and since the blinds were so high I had clawed my way back in to the match. With the blinds at 10K/20K I limped from the small blind with 4 5 suited and the big blind checked. The flop came queen, 8, 2 with two diamonds and with the big blind first to act he overbet the pot putting me virtually all-in. I decided it was now or never and called much to his disappointment as he thought he was busted when he turned over 2 6 off for bottom pair no kicker. Unfortunately he dodged another diamond and knocked me out to take the win.

The second place finish after my fifth the previous week actually puts in me in to the lead for the venue, admittedly after only 3 weeks in to the season. So with that in mind I'll definitely be back on Monday to hopefully put in another good performance and attempt to qualify for States.

My friend Paul who beat me heads-up with 2 6 off ... ouch ...

Headed in the right direction

After a rough last week or two on PokerStars, things seem to be heading in the right direction again. I've been pretty much breaking even for each session this week and then had a solid night yesterday.

The night started slowly, failing to cash in any of the first 6 games. The 7th however I broke through for a 2nd place in a $3 45 man game. The heads-up play was essentially over before it began as the chip leader had taken out the other stack so he had a 11:1 chip lead on me. I had to defend my big blind with king 3 suited, he had pocket tens, I caught a 3 but that was it, game over.

A few games later I got a 5th place in another 45. I was short-stack at the table and it got folded to me in the small blind so I shoved all-in to the big blind with king 5 off. He had a decent stack so could've called me with lesser hands but instead turned over ace king and I didn't improve.

After playing a number of the $2 180's and doing nothing in them, I finished well with a 4th place for $29. I was about to be big blind so I shoved all-in with king queen off, unfortunately for me the big stack was the big blind and could easily call with ace rag. Flopped an ace, I caught a queen but nothing else.

As the night was drawing to a close, I also played two $1.75 18 mans. I was out early in the first one but got second in the last one. Heads-up started with the villain having a 3:1 chip lead. I got it back to 2:1 at one point but called an all-in defending my big blind with ace 9 off, he turned over king ten off and rivered a straight to seal the win.

Unfortunately the 18 man games don't get counted on OPR so my month is still -2% ROI on there. I've had 5 straight months of positive returns so I would really like to finish this week and therefore the month strongly and get back in black. There's still plenty of time but I only have 2 wins so far this month, if I can get this to 5 or more that would really help the bankroll and my profitability. With my winning session last night, I'm back over US$500, after dipping under $440 earlier in the week.

PokerStars update

Its been a tough week at the tables for me. I've had a couple of awful sessions and I've also had some good performances.

I was proud of the way I played Sunday. Usually a tougher day because its Saturday night in the US and its tough when you have a higher % of donks and suck-outs that you have to try and avoid. I mentioned that I didn't plan to play that day, that I had plenty of other stuff to do ... which I did, but they didn't get done. I decided to just play the cheaper $1 entry games and performed well winning one 90 man, a second in a 45 and plenty of other cashes.

Monday on the other hand was just awful. Stepping back up to concentrate on the $2 180's and the $3 45's, I proceeded to not cash in 21 straight tournaments. Not good for the confidence or the bankroll.

Not much exciting after that until last night when in the early part of the session I was on the final table of two 180 mans. I was really pleased with that because I had bubbled the final table of these a number of times over the last few days. Considering the comparitive increase in pay-outs for the final table to finish just off it had been very annoying. So at the hourly break I was 4-handed on one table and 7-handed on the other, with a fair shot of winning my first one of these. 4-handed the chip leader was being super aggressive and pushing the table around. I got involved with one of the other stacks with pocket 7's in the big blind and I played it badly. I should've re-raised all-in vs his button raise but chose to flat call and bet strong on the flop. The board was all diamonds, two lower than my 7's but I didn't have one. I bet, got re-raised all-in and I now regret that I folded. He could've had the flush draw or one of the two lower cards, but ... we'll never know. Shortly after the chip leader raises strongly on the button and I have pocket kings in the small blind, great! I instantly re-raise all-in over the top and he makes the call with ... 5 9 suited. 9 on the flop ... no problem ... 9 on the river and I'm gone in 4th.

Nothing as eventful on the other table. I had fought back from a short-stack inside the final 18 and had ace ten suited in the small blind first hand. There was a raise and a shortish all-in and normally I'd fold to move up a place but it seemed stupid considering my stack and rivered a ten to take down the mainpot. I made one soft mistake short-handed when I didn't re-raise all-in with a suited ace in the small blind vs a short-stack push. The chip monster who was the big blind re-raised and I ended up folding. He turned over king queen off and didn't improve so I would've chipped up there. I blinded out not long after, again in 4th. The good money comes in the top 3 so it was disappointing to fall just outside both times.

After that tho, things didn't go well and I blanked the next 15 tournaments. I actually think I'm tilting a bit ... which is something I have never done live. I'm running ace king in to aces a little too often and I think I'm rushing decisions a bit. I've played a few of the smaller sit'n go's to mix it up a little and have done ok in these. They don't show up on OPR so its a little harder to keep track of them.

I had two quick $1 45 mans before I went to the gym tonight. Midfield in the first and looked like bubbling the second one. I got on the final table with an average stack and in the opening minutes a few of the shorter stacks got chipped up. We lost one player and the table really tightened up except for the chip monster who was taking advantage of this. I was out of position, wasn't getting cards so there wasn't too much I could do. The bubble seemed to go for ages and I was perilously close to getting knocked out. Luckily the big stack sucked out on someone and the bubble burst just before I was blinded out. I chipped up a little when my ace high blind vs blind held and then I think I chipped up with pocket kings. I fought my way right back and was just behind the chip leader when we were down to 3 players. I get pocket 2's on the button and raise 1/2 my stack ... I thought this showed how strong I was because there was no way I was folding. Looking back, I should've pushed it all-in. Anyway, small blind short-stack folds, the big blind who is the chip leader but not by much anymore takes his time and then re-raises all-in. I of course call because I'm committed to the pot, the big blind turns over 3 8 off. Are you kidding me?? The flop and turn are safe and then he rivers a 3 ... UGGGGGGGGGGHHHH. Horribly I finish in 3rd and he goes on to win. 3 8 off ... donk.

So the bankroll is now at US$480. I've seemingly plateaued again and have been up and down between $460 and my high of $630. I feel like I'm playing well, I'm taking stands a little wider and picking off a number of steals which really help mid and late tournament. As mentioned, I think when I run bad I'm rushing, playing on tilt and probably playing too many tournaments at a time.

I'm catching up with a friend for coffee tomorrow and going to a birthday/pub-crawl tomorrow afternoon so that should be good. I'll probably again on Sunday, hopefully won't be too hungover and can get back to growing my roll.

Online poker update

After waiting a week or so, I finally got my ADSL wireless turned on last week. Hopefully, that'll mean I'll be blogging a bit more often as its easier to do than when I was using the plug-in modem between my two laptops.

Since my update last week, I've played 4 poker sessions on PokerStars. After my back to back tournament wins I was hoping the momentum would continue. The next session was a short one but profitable with 4 cashes out of 14 games but the next day did not go so well. It started fine, me playing well, going deep ... I then grabbed some dinner and got back in to it. Other than an early cash, I could do nothing right and ended up failing to cash in my last 14 tournaments of the night. I was blown away by this stretch and looking back at the results, I wasn't really close to getting in the money. The best I could do was two 12th placed finishes in the 45 man games where you need to finish top 7 to get paid.

After a dinner party on Friday night, I was back playing again on Saturday. I had a big night on Friday and didn't sleep well so was pretty tired. That didn't hurt me tho as I played well and the results came. I played 17 tournaments and cashed 7 of them, no wins but I finished the afternoon with 2 second placed finishes in a row. One was a $3.25 45 man for $30 and the other was a $2 180 man for $72. The first one annoyed me because the stacks were fairly even going in to heads up. The villain had pushed all-in for the first few hands and I had nothing so folded. He limped in from the small blind and I raised strongly with pocket 7's. I expected him to fold but he took a while and eventually called. Flop came down 9, 8, 5 and by this stage there was so much money in the pot (as the blinds were high already) I pushed it all-in. He again went in to the tank and then called turning over 6 8 off. I was surprised to say the least that he limped and then called pre-flop with that. His 8 was good and a 7 on the river rubbed salt in the wound giving me a set and him a straight. The 180 man was different as the villain had a large chip lead going to heads up as he'd just knocked out the other big stack. He raised from the sb and I had pocket 4's. I knew he wasn't folding if I shoved so the plan was to call and then push on the flop and hoped he hadn't hit. The flop came down queen, 7, 3 so I push and he calls turning over ace 3 off. I'm in good shape until the ace comes on the river and I finish second.

With the two second placed finishes to end the night my bankroll broke through US$600 for the first time which was nice. I played yesterday evening as well, doing really well early until I got an emergency text from a friend saying she was in trouble and needed me to get her out of there. I was in the middle of 3 tournaments at the time so was a little torn, wondering how much trouble she was in and how desperately she needed saving. I was deep in one and finished 3rd, deep in another one before running queens in a to kings when I was flat-called from the button by a big stack. I was in the middle of a 180 man and doing well but realised I had to just walk away. After driving for 30 mins picking up my friend (in tears) and then driving home, I walked back in to find that I had finished 25th in the 180 just 7 places out of getting paid despite sitting out the final 1/3 of the tournament. I frustratingly bubbled a couple of $3.25 45 mans later in the night but thankfully got a 2nd to pretty much break even for the session.

Worlds collide

It's so annoying planning for a night of poker only to find out PokerStars are doing their weekly reset of the server. Its weekly (I think) but it never seems to be on the same night, there's no announcement so you can never plan to be elsewhere.

Before the reset I was doing really well, chipped up in two 45 man tournaments with a good chance to cash both. I went a bit card dead in one and by the time final table formed I was in 8th or 9th place. I pushed all-in early and chipped up a little when I took down the blinds but was still short-stack. I picked up ace king off and pushed that all-in only to get called by the short-stack in the big blind who had pocket 6's and found a 6 on the flop. I then had pocket 5's under the gun and decided to put it in. I got called by a big stack in the small blind with ace ten off and the big blind who had ace 3 suited. Not a terrible spot for me until a ten hit the flop and the turn and I didn't improve, going out on the bubble.

On the other table I was in a good position, decent stack with a few short-stacks on the table. One or two went out and I found ace king in the small blind. The table folded around to me so I pushed all-in and got called by the big blind for 2/3 of his stack. He showed queen ten suited and turned a flush to knock me out in 7th. Frustrating as if I take down that hand I easily make top 3 and have a good shot at the win. Oh well, I now play for the win so I have to accept that sometimes.

I had another bubble later in the night to end what has been a very ordinary week in terms of profits (in other words losses) and statistics.

I was going to post this video clip as music and poker go well together. This is probably my favourite song at the moment, not because its Jay Z who gets plenty of love ... but because of the alto sax and the old-school groove. I watched the official clip for the first time today and saw it also includes a quick poker scene as well as LeBron James which is where the "Worlds collide" title comes from. Click here to see my other life.

PokerStars update

After my 3 day break from poker I jumped back in to the action on Monday night. It started well enough, min-cashing my first 45 man tournament but things got ugly as I then failed to cash 13 tournaments in a row before again min-cashing a 90 man tournament to end the night. I don't think I was playing badly as I made it down to the final 2 tables on 9 of those 13 tournaments but couldn't win hands at the right time to get me on to final tables and in the money.

Tuesday went a lot better. After the disappointment the night before I was focussed and crushed early, cashing 3 of the first 4 tournaments including a win a 3rd and a 5th (all 45 man tournaments). I trailed off a bit but still had another 2nd a 5th (45 mans) and a min cash in a 90 man. So the results from Tuesday (6 cashes from 18 games) made up for the losses of the night before.

Last night I planned to play a little in the afternoon and then watch some DVD's (Seven Pounds and Role Models) later in the night. I forgot that poker is on OneHD on a Wednesday night so the DVD's would have to wait. Unfortunately, the poker turned out to be a replay of the PCA that I had seen a few weeks earlier ... but I of course still watched it.

The night started well with a 5th in a 45 man before a stretch of 6 non-cashes. After some dinner I cranked it up a level tho and cashed 5 of the last 8 tournaments including a win in a 90 man and three 4ths. I was pleased that I had two good finishes in the 90 man tournaments because it had been a week or so since I had a top 3 finish in those so to finish with a win was nice.

The win was a hard-fought one. I was struggling for chips with about 30 to go and would have been close to the bottom of the chip-count. I pushed all-in twice with pocket 3's, once out-running ace queen and another time getting called by a big blind short-stack with 3 8 suited. After getting to a comfortable stack I then started to actually get hands and come final table was well placed.

Final table started a bit rocky when my ace jack couldn't hold up against a short-stack all-in of ace 2 suited and another caller with queen jack off. A 2 hit the flop and it was good enough to win. The same short-stack later pushed all-in from the button 5 handed, the small blind big stack then re-raised strongly and I loved it because I had aces! As I was re-raising my wireless internet connection dropped out so I was frantically trying to reconnect. Thankfully I managed to, button turns over king ten off, small blind has kings and my aces held up to take down a massive pot.

3 handed I raised solidly from the button with pocket queens, I get re-raised all-in by a shorter-stack who has ace 9 off ... 9 on the flop, ace on the turn ... groan. I exacted some revenge shortly after taking him out and getting to heads up with a slight lead. The other person took down a few early pots but the turning point would be when they min-raised from the small blind and I called with king 2 off. Flop comes king 9 9 with two spades which I didn't really think much of. First to act I checked, assuming my king was good, he bets, I re-raise strongly and he calls all-in. He turns over 5 6 of spades so I'm sweating no more spades and thankfully I take it down. He's almost out so I re-raise with ace 3 suited, he turns over ace queen but I flop a flush and its over.

I thought the king ten button, kings small blind, aces big blind seemed cold short-handed on the final table but I just across this from the World Series:

McKusick Gains Heat From a Cold Deck

There's was a ton of commotion over at table 72 in the orange section just a brief moment ago. We turned to the table to see three players all in. One player held and another player held . Both were terribly dominated by the third player's .

The board ran out , to give the player holding the the nut flush. That player was Ken McKusick out of Baltimore, Maryland and he now has nearly 120,000 chips.

To make things even more interesting, two players in the hand held jacks and another player held pocket sevens. Cold deck much?

Solid lay-down from the pocket jacks. You'd be pretty unhappy if you were the guy with the aces ... "but I have trips!!"

Bankroll now just under US$400 and I'm already just one win short of my goal of 4 tournament wins for the month.

Short night on PokerStars

I was disciplined last night, going to the gym straight after work before settling in on the couch for the night. I don't know why anyone goes to the gym after work, its way too packed. Thankfully I got there just in time to get a park and left just before it was too ridiculous.

Anyway, on to the poker. I felt like I played well last night, results just didn't go my way. I stuck with my theory of just playing the $1 tournaments until I'm completely smashing them and have developed my game a little more.

So my first 45 man turbo, I make it to the final table 3rd in chips and reasonably well placed. Blinds are quite high by this point and no one is calling the shoves all-in from the shorter stacks. I may be 3rd but relative to the blinds I'm not in a comfortable spot. Someone shoves from early position and I have pocket 8's in the small blind. I know he's pushing with pockets or a decent ace but I'm willing to take the race to knock someone, substantially chip up and play for the win. He turns over ace king and all is going well until he rivers a straight. I'm now in a bad spot but get ace queen on the button, everyone folds to me so I push it all-in. I get called by the small blind who turns over jack 8 off. I flop ace queen and then he hits runner runner straight and I'm out in 9th (top 7 cash in these tournaments).

Two games later in a 90 man turbo, I make final table, playing well and get to heads up. The other player took out the 3rd place finisher so has the chip lead. I check out their ranking on OPR to see what I'm up against and not surprisingly they're not a good player. A few hands in he raises from the small blind, I have ace jack in the big blind so re-raise before I get re-raised. They have the chip lead so I decide to shove and he calls me with king ten suited. My hand holds and I take down a huge pot and now take a dominant chip lead. A few hands later, he doubles the blinds from the small blind and I call with queen 4 suited. The board comes queen ten rag, I check and he shoves so I call. He turns over king jack off which is not what I wanted to see ... blank on the turn, ace on the river to give him the straight and the chip lead back. He works his way up to a 3 or 4 to 1 chip lead and I shove from the small blind with king ten off and he calls with 3, 4 off. Flop comes 2, king, 5 and I know exactly what's coming ... 6 on the turn and I'm gone. Another frustrating heads-up battle ends in a second place finish to a lesser player.

There was only one other small cash (2 total) from 11 games last night. Normally that would be a bad night but I'm not disappointed with the way I played (except for the final table of the other game, played WAY too passively). For example, in a 90 man tournament with 30 left and me being a short-stack, someone raises from middle position, I have pocket kings and flat call knowing that at this point I need to build a large pot and hope someone else comes along. The big blind shoves all-in over the top, the original raiser eventually calls and of course so do I. Big blind turns over pocket 8's, initial raiser had 7's so I'm well ahead with kings. 8 on the turn and I'm out. Normally I would discourage callers with pocket kings as I only want to be up against one other player, but at this stage of the tournament, I needed a big pot and if my hand had held I would've been up in the top 10 stacks.

Some other unlucky but well played moments throughout the night but I won't bore you with those. Despite only cashing twice, I turned a small profit. State of Origin 2 tonight so I won't be playing but will likely be back at the tables on Thursday night.

Go the Maroons!!

PokerStars update

Since my last post updating you on my online progress its been a rough week or two of poker for me. I mentioned in it that I was going to stop playing over the weekend because I seem to struggle to do well on Saturdays and Sundays.

I of course played anyway and my bankroll got smashed as I played a lot more $2 buy-in events trying to get to the next level. I ran BAAAD! Over the next 4 days (after my Friday update) I played 61 tournaments and cashed in just 8 of them and on the last day went 0 from 9! That is unheard of for me and my confidence was questioned.

I have since righted the ship and had a solid day on Sunday cashing in 7 of 23 tournaments. I felt like I was playing pretty well and was unlucky not to cash in a few more. Of those 7 cashes, 3 were final tables with the best result being a 2nd in a $1 90 man turbo. I really should've won that game but lost a couple of costly flips heads-up. I went in to heads-up play behind in chips (as usual) but fought back to even and then got to a 2 to 1 chip lead. At this point the other player raised from the small blind and I pushed all-in with pocket 9's from the big blind. He called with ace ten suited and caught two pair on the flop and my hand didn't improve. Then when he had a dominant lead he pushed all-in from the small blind and I instantly called with pocket tens. He turned over ace 8 suited and turned the flush to knock me out in 2nd place.

It annoys me to lose in situations like this where I know I'm up against worse players. I usually check out my competition's results on Official Poker Rankings and that gives me an idea of who I'm up against and what sort of player they are. Most of the time, I get to these final tables against loose/weak players but can't finish them off. I've started posting hands and following the threads on the Two Plus Two Poker Forum so hopefully that helps to improve my game and develop my play a bit more.

Anyway, bankroll is just over US$300 after dipping under 290 a couple of times. I'm just going to focus on the $1 90 man games for a while until I feel like I'm really crushing them, improve my stats and hopefully get June back in to the black again (-2% ROI at the moment).

Friday night poker

I may have mentioned this before, Friday night is a great night for staying at home. Back to back games of NRL and two consecutive hours of poker on OneHD. That's some quality TV time if you ask me.

Another very quiet day at work yesterday and while I was productive for most of it, I finished the day with two quick sit'n go games. I loaded up a $3.40 18 man turbo and despite playing well ended up a very frustrated bubble-boy. I was fairly card dead on the final table and ended up pushing all-in as short-stack from the button with ace 7 off-suit. The big blind thought for a moment and then called turning over king 2 suited. First card out ace, GREAT ... but it was the ace of clubs, another club on the flop and then one more on the turn and I was done. Top 4 get paid, I finished 5th.

The next sit'n go didn't go anywhere near as well and I was sent packing fairly early on. I planned on going to the gym last night but it was way too cold so that idea got vetoed and I ended up playing more poker.

The night didn't get any better from home as I failed to cash in the next 5 games. I was playing a mix of $1 90 man turbos, $2 90 man non-turbos and $2 180 man turbos. I was hoping I could overcome my recent poor form in the $2 games but that wasn't the best start. Suck-outs all over the shop and I wasn't getting close to the money at all.

Thankfully my luck turned half-way through and I managed to scrape in to the money of a 180 man tournament finishing in 16th. $2 drought over!! And from there, the floodgates opened ... somewhat. I final tabled the next 180 man finishing a frustrating 7th and got in to the money again on the next 180 man finishing in 10th (bubbling the final table).

The night ended with a strong performance in a $2 90 man game. I chipped up early and maintained and built my stack throughout the tournament. I was never in trouble and stayed in the top 10 stacks down to the final two tables. I took a beat inside the top 16 but quickly got back in to the top stacks heading to final table.

I played a really good final table and felt in control. I made one mistake when I raised with ace jack in early position, got called by the big blind and when first to act he shoved all-in on a low board. I felt it was a move but still folded ... he showed ace ten off ... groan. I recovered from this miss-step and sat in the top 3 stacks as players were getting knocked out. In the big blind I had ace king suited when the short-stack shoves from early position. I played on this guy's table for the last hour so I knew I would be in good shape. He turned over ace 5 off but the first card out was a 5 and while I hit an ace it of course did me no good. That hurt and I found myself in trouble for the first time but I managed to take down a few pots and fought back up to a reasonable level. The player to my right who had just taken a bad beat shoved from the button and I called all-in from the small blind with ace queen suited. He had me covered but I knew I was ahead and wanted to take a shot at the win and couldn't wait for a better situation than this (as the blinds were already high). He turned over king ten off which was what I expected ... unfortunately the first card out was a king and my hand didn't improve. Gone in 4th spot which was disappointing as I knew I was the best player at the table, things just didn't go my way.

So after a horrible start to the night with the $3.40 sit'n go's and then failing to cash in my first 5 MTT's, i finished the night cashing in 4 of my final 5 tournaments, final-tabling 2 of them. I didn't managed to get a win or a top 3 finish but the bankroll still improved to US$380. The best news tho was that my $2 drought was over!

I've mentioned it before but I tend to find the weekend games particularly ugly on PokerStars and my bankroll grows midweek and falls on the weekend. So with this in mind I'm likely not going to play this weekend ... plus I have work to do. We'll see how I go tho ...

Short night

I got home and watched the replay of game 3, Magic vs Lakers in the NBA Championship Series on One HD. I also had a DVD to watch before I have to take it back tomorrow, "Yes Man" with Jim Carrey ... meh, I've seen worse. I even laughed a couple of times, although mainly at Rhys Darby (Murray from "Flight of the Conchords"), I'm not a fan of Carrey. Anyway, by the time that was finished I had an hour or two to kill so loaded up PokerStars.

I only had time for 3 $1 90 man turbo games and although it got off to a slow start, some well-timed hands and I was continuing on the good form from last night. I got in the money in two out of the three, the first two games I final-tabled finishing 7th and 5th respectively.

The first final table I made with a solid chip stack but wasn't getting any decent cards in position. I probably should've taken a stand with pocket 6's at one point but folded to an early position raise. I ended up pushing from under the gun with ace jack but ran in to pocket queens in the small blind and couldn't outrun them.

The second table went a little better. Again I made the table with chips and waited for hands. I ended up taking a stand with ace jack (funnily enough) in the big blind against an early position raise. I pushed all-in and was called, he turned over king queen off and I flopped a jack to take down the pot. Shortly after I called the small stack push with pocket 7's in the small blind, he turned over ace 9 off and hit two pair. Next hand I had 7's again and thankfully they held up this time for me to double up. I ended up pushing with pocket 2's in the small blind but was called by the big blind who was chipped up. He called with king 8 off and rivered an 8 to knock me out. Looking back I probably should've just raised and then pushed the flop ... not sure he would've folded, but who knows.

Bankroll now just over $370.