Running out of time

Another day another grind. I've just finished a 5.5 hour session of playing and I've still got a way to go to get to 750VPP's for the month. I'm now at 580 but I'm running out of time. I have the APL State Finals tomorrow and then an engagement party after that so it looks like it will all come down to a long session on Sunday and Monday morning if I'm going to make it.

Yesterday wasn't a great session because I couldn't get any higher than two 3rd place finishes. I also had a number of final table and money bubbles which means the bankroll was going backwards. It was a similar situation tonight as I had a number of min-cashes despite feeling like I was playing well. Bubbles were taking ages to burst and I was playing for the win so I have to just accept that it didn't go my way.

I finished the night with a win tho so that was nice. I won a flip 4 handed which gave me a good stack when my limp-call with 7's managed to hold against a shove with ace queen off. I knew the player I was heads-up against as she (I think) 20 tables so I have played against her a number of times. The battle was back and forth to begin with but her aggressive play soon saw her take the lead. I soon figured she was raising my big blind with any two cards and started calling light and just waited to hit cards. The turning point came when I re-raised with ace queen and she called me with 5 7 off and we got it on the turn of a king high flop because she was drawing to a straight. Ace on the river, I take it down and then turn the tables on her, raising a little lighter and eventually calling a small blind shove with ace 3 off and holding.

Its satisfying beating a regular/grinder heads-up. It shows I'm growing as a player and I definitely have improved my end-game. It really does make a difference when you can get a win in the 45's because if you aren't winning or getting top 3 every couple of tournaments, your bankroll really heads backwards. The win gets me back to $550 ... the amount of tables I'm trying to play probably weakens my play so its not a surprise to see it heads backwards a little.

Anyway, APL State Finals tomorrow ... I'd love to have another deep run and this time make the final table. I'll update you tomorrow or Sunday.

Nick Rainey, WBCOOP and VIP update

It was a quiet morning at work so I decided to play in event #3 of the WBCOOP on PokerStars.

In event #1 there was around 1600 players with 153 receiving tickets to the SCOOP. As I do, I finished about 180th, just short of winning a ticket. I played well despite taking a rotten beat early. I raised with queens, flop came 8 high and despite me showing strength someone couldn't fold ace 8 and rivered an 8. That crippled me early but I fought back strong, got back in the game but fell just short. The final hand was folded to the button who raised, I had ace king suited in the small blind and re-raised all-in. After a bit of thought he called turning over 6's and held knocking me out.

Today was a similar story. My first table had someone just shoving every single hand for the first 5 minutes or so. He sucked out on a few people but of course lost it not long after. From there, it was just stupid aggression from a number of players because we had a number of stacks that were sitting out. I was patient and picked my spots, re-raising when I normally wouldn't but my reads/ranges were right and I got paid off. I was shortish approaching the bubble and called from the small blind with 9 10 off vs 1 limper and the big blind who checked. Flop came 9 high so I pushed all-in, small blind folded but the donk who limped called turning over bottom pair ace kicker and of course the river was the ace and I was gone about 10 short of the money/ticket. SOOO frustrating.

There's a really good article about insane MTT grinder Nick Rainey (aka MI_turtle). I think it appeared in a British poker magazine and its well worth a read.

Also, my quest for Silver VIP status on PokerStars is going to be a battle. After playing the last few nights I'm just short of 550, still 200 short of the target. I'll play as much as I can tomorrow but I'm playing in the APL State Finals on Saturday and have an engagement party after that ... so that day is out. Sunday will have to be a mad day-long grind.

Quick bankroll update. I couldn't get any wins tonight and with a number of bubbles and min-cashes thrown in I'm currently around $550. I really want to get back over $600 which I was briefly earlier in the week.

APL - Broadway Hotel

Its been a few weeks since I've blogged and its a mixture of tilt, busy being and falling out of the habit. I'll start getting back in the rhythm with an APL update from the Broadway Hotel venue.

Last Monday I got a text from a friend who was having dinner with the TD and said that it was the last night of the venue for the quarter because the Broadway had functions for the weeks leading up to Christmas. I checked the leaderboard and after a few weeks of not getting deep I was still clinging on to 3rd place which meant if I could make it through the night without getting passed I would be off to the State Finals. There were 3 or 4 people who were within reach so I knew who I needed to worry about.

The night started off well for me with an early chip-up but after that it all went downhill. The key hand for me was when I limped from the hijack with ace 3 suited (spades) and it folded round to the big blind who just checked. The flop came 9 spades, 8 spades, rag so I had the nut flush draw. The big blind led overbet the pot so I was either all-in or fold and needing to double-up I pushed. He was committed to the pot and ashamedly turned over jack ten off and was chasing the straight but liked that I was chasing too. Unfortunately for me an 8 came on the turn to give him the straight and my hand didn't improve. I was out shortly after when my ace king didn't hold up in a multiway pot.

I had a second chance on the turbo table but didn't win that either. When I left the turbo table I scoured the room to find out that just one player who was a chance to knock me off was left in the tournament. It was one of my friends so he was well aware of the situation that he and I was in and he needed to make final table to knock me off. After sweating his table for another hour or so he almost limped on to final table with just one 100 chip left (the blinds were 4K by this time) but he ended up bubbling. I felt bad for him because he was so close to making it through, but obviously relieved that I had secured 3rd and would again be off to States having just watched and played the freeroll last time.

Update

I know I put a ban on myself playing online poker but I really didn't expect to go a week without blogging so apologies for that.

Its now been a week without playing online and I'm itching to get back in to it but likely won't until Thursday night at the earliest.

Since I haven't been playing, I got stuck in to those DVD's I mentioned in the last post. I know it didn't get good reviews but I enjoyed "Angels & Demons". I think they did well considering the limited access to the Vatican that they were allowed. "Notorious" was ok too. I'm not a fan of Biggie, especially not compared to Tupac but it was an interesting story all the same. With P-Diddy as the producer, I take the "reality" of the movie with a grain of salt especially when it came to the east coast - west coast rivalry. The final movie was "Little Miss Sunshine" which was recommended to me by a friend and I've been meaning to see for a while. I think I was hesitant to see it until now because it didn't seem like my type of humour. After watching it this turned out to be the case, sure it was funny in parts but essentially not my style but still worth a look.

Friday night was my league's NBA Fantasy Draft ... now known as the GREATEST night of the year. There are 7 of that grab dinner and drinks and then come back here for the draft. Due to some players in the league living in Perth, the draft itself doesn't kick off until 12:15am so there is plenty of time for talking shit and catching up.

This weekend I went up to Maroochydore to hang out with some friends that were playing in the APL State Finals. Having not played APL for months I wasn't eligible to play in the main event but could play in the freeroll. The freeroll was madness to say the least. Players were allowed unlimited spend cards for re-buys and by 5pm when it kicked off plenty of players were pissed after busting out of the main event or just pissed (due to alcohol). I had been at my brother's place in the afternoon so didn't fill out a spend card which meant I was up against it from the get go. My starting table was very loose and a number of people were playing any 2 cards no matter the pre-flop raise. I won a small pot early, lost another with 9's against someone trapping with top pair and from there it was shove or fold due to the blinds. I shoved with ace queen only to get called by king 6 suited and thankfully turned two pair to take the pot. I later went all-in with ace king off and survived against two players. I got moved tables and the blinds were already 500/1000 and I only had around 3000. It folded to me in the cutoff so I shoved with ace 8 off and unfortunately got called blind by a short-stack in the big blind. He turned over jack 9 off and caught a jack on the flop to win. My stack was crippled and I was out shortly after.

Last night I decided to play a regular APL game at the Broadway Hotel. I used to play this venue in the past but they lost it for a while and its only just returned. There were some terrible players on my table but I was card dead early (which has often been the case at this venue for me) so couldn't take advantage of it. After being extremely patient for the first 2 hours, I had 5 7 of hearts in the big blind against a big stack in midposition and a completed small blind. Flop came 3 4 6 with two diamonds ... SWEET! Small blind checked, I decided to check also figuring the big stack would bet and he didn't let me down. Surprisingly tho the small blind re-raised and I pushed all-in which was just less than her re-raise ... and the big stack still called. The small blind continued to bet on the turn and river and get called so I assumed at least one of them had a flush draw which thankfully didn't come. Small blind turned over the bottom straight with 2 5 of diamonds and the big stack mucked so I took down the main pot and was finally chipped up. I then had kings in midposition and with one limper and the blinds at 500/1000 decided to just shove and see if the under-the-gun limper called and he didn't. Shoved with ace king off late but didn't get called and then the bubble burst and I was on the final table.

I drew the under-the-gun spot on the final table and with the blinds at 2000/4000 I had just 10,000. I got pocket 6's first hand but with a number of smallish stacks I decided to just fold and move up the rankings. It turned out to be a good decision as someone with 9's caught a set on the turn to take down the pot. A few players got knocked out and then I got queens and called with my final 4K when the blinds were at 6. I thankfully got isolated by someone with ace rag and my hand held up. I pushed next hand with ace jack suited and then held up against a caller with ace 8 suited. We were down to just 6 players and it folded to me with king jack off in the hijack. I wanted to be aggressive so pushed all-in but got called by the big stack in the small blind and the big blind decided to play as well so he didn't get blinded out. Big stack turns over ace ten which catches two aces to knock us both out and I finish in 5th. The shove wasn't a play I normally make but I was going for the win and don't hate the move at that stage of the game. So a good result for my first game back and I'll likely play that venue from now on.

APL update

Well, in my post at the end of 2008 I said that I would be going back to the APL State Finals next quarter but I have fallen just short of achieving that.

I didn't play that many games again this quarter, instead choosing to play more online. The two APL venues I played were Hotel Broadway on Monday night and my usual Shafston Hotel on Thursday night.

I started well at Broadway with a 2nd place finish in the 2nd week of the venue. After that, I made top 16 a couple of times but couldn't get back to the final table and score the big points. In the final month of the quarter I stopped playing when I was no longer in contention.

Shafston I got off to a slow start struggling to put any good performances on the board against the English language students and players who had a few too many drinks. Shafston is such a tough field because of the larger numbers and "colourful" characters that play the game. In the 3rd and 4th weeks I finish top 16, just off the final table the 4th week being an agonising bubble. I then found a bit of form (and of course luck) making two final tables in a row finishing 6th and 4th. This put me back in contention for the venue, needing to finish top 3 to make it to States. I had two poor results in the following weeks and a final table 5th in the last game of the quarter wasn't enough to get it done.

I finished in 6th place for the quarter at the Shafston, basically one win out of 3rd place. So close! Congratulations to my friends Jasmine and Ellen who came first and second respectively. Ellen, sorry for knocking you out of contention in the last game. :-)

APL roll

As the game last night signalled the end of this quarter's APL season its disappointing to know that I won't be heading back to States next month to back-up my cash-winning performance from last time. I really didn't play enough this season to put up good enough numbers to get me back there. I also didn't play enough games at one particular venue to be competitive.

Saying that tho, I finished the quarter on a pretty impressive roll. In my last 4 games (over 10 days) I finished 3rd, 4th, 5th and a 2nd last night. These results followed on from my 27th in the big game down at Tweed on December 14. I checked my stats on the website earlier and I only played 9 APL games this month but 6 of them I finished 5th or better.

Last night's game was at The Redbrick which I don't like as a venue but have a really good record there (3 games, won a regional tournament, a 4th and a 2nd). I ran very hot early until my nut flush ran in to a full house. I then hovered around the same mark until the blinds were nearly catching up on me. I got some good cards and some even better flops and chipped up to a strong level. The blinds were massive long before final table and it became a push-fest. On the bubble, I pushed from under-the-gun with ace-jack off-suit, got called by a short-stack small blind and the big blind who had my stack covered folded ace-king! Neither of us hit and I took the pot down.

On the final table one guy who had been playing VERY loose all night cleaned house taking out a few players and chipping up massively when his jack-ten off-suit took out 3 players in one hand (one had pocket kings, one had pocket jacks). He took out the 3rd placed player and had a MASSIVE chip lead when we got heads up. He was pushing with everything but I won a couple of hands in a row before losing a race and the game.

The new season starts tomorrow and I WILL be going back to the APL State Finals next quarter.

The big cash game

Sunday was the day of the big cash poker game. I had a combined bucks & hens day on Saturday and stupidly had a bit too much to drink. Thankfully it was an early night so I wasn't hurting too badly come Sunday morning.

There was 24 people playing, $100 buy-in, $1400 first prize and cash went down to 5th place. Having done well in the APL State Finals the week before in a field of 500, I was hoping to take that kind of form in to this game. The structure suited me well, 10K starting stack and 1 hour blinds (very slow). This meant I could be extremely patient if I was on an aggressive table or play a wider range of cards if there weren't many raises.

Unfortunately a few of my friends were out very early on. For much of the day I went up and down a little but basically stayed around the 10K starting mark. I threw out a few semi-bluffs and because most of the people know me well, they folded and I didn't have to show my hands. The main hand of the day for me was a battle between myself and a friend who I had taken a few pots from. I raised 3 times the blind under-the-gun with ace-jack off. She re-raises from small blind another 3 times which really isn't that much more for me at that point in the game so I call. I'm trying to think what she would re-raise me with and figure it has to be queens, kings, aces, ace-king or maybe ace-queen. The flop comes king, ace, king and she's first to act ... she bets almost the pot. That looks like a semi-scary board for me considering what I put her on pre-flop but I call and will see what happens on the turn. The next card is a blank 7 ... shouldn't help or hurt but she comes out hard again betting the pot which is now about 1/2 of my stack. I start to work the hand out in my head and it looks like she wants me out of the pot because her under pockets (jacks or queens) are no longer good. I can't be sure but I'm pretty sure I'm ahead ... but I fold and figure I'll take my stand later when I'm more confident. She is relieved that I folded and eventually does me the honour of showing me pocket queens. Obviously I was wrong to fold but I was pleased that I actually put her on that hand and figured out the play correctly. Despite that hand I still go to the next break even steven around 10K.

I play quite well without getting involved in to me stand-offs and make my way down to the final two tables. The blinds are now actually making an impact on chip stacks so moves are made far more often. I wait till I get pocket kings and flat call under-the-gun. A looser player next to me raises it up 3.5 times, everyone else folds and I push all-in over the top. She thinks, calls and turns over jacks and my kings hold up and I more than double up.

We get down to the final 8 players and the blinds are now up to 2000/4000 and I've only got about 15K. One player on the other side of the table is a chip-monster and has been playing loose and getting lucky. We're involved early in a 4-way pot with one player all-in so I figure I'll get to see all 5 cards. Unfortunately he (the chip monster) pushes hard on the turn. I need one more card for the nut flush but it will cost me all my chips to see that card. I figure he's either got a full-house which is possible but unlikely or he already has a small flush and wants everyone out. I eventually fold and he show the small flush, another heart comes on the river saving the all-in and the big-stack wins nothing from the hand. I miss out on taking all the chips tho and knocking one person out.

We're down to 7 now and my stack is almost gone ... chip-monster pushes very hard under-the-gun. I look down and see ace-queen off and figure that will do. Its just the two of us and he turns over pocket 6's. First card out ace ... great! Next card out ten of clubs, queen of clubs (beauty, I have two pair), king of clubs ... 3 of clubs ... giving him a 4 card flush with his 6. I get knocked out to 4 running clubs ... uggggh. 7th placed finish, just out of the money ... so close. I was pleased to go deep in a relatively high standard of cash game (altho there were plenty of bad plays from a number of them), played good poker but hope to do even better next time.

(I'm not Kenny Tran, "king of the cash game" yet)

Cold cards

After my deep run at the APL State Finals my cards have turned COLD. Well, actually they turned cold about 30 minutes before I finished the State tournament.

I've played APL (Australian Poker League) twice this week and seen virtually no cards at all. I had an aggressive table on Monday but it really didn't matter, I saw nothing I could call raises with. Not high cards, not suited connectors, nothing that had a reason to play it.

Then last night at the Shafston it took me around TWO hours before I won a hand. If I had semi-decent cards, I couldn't connect with a flop and when I was able to limp in from the blinds, best I could do was hit bottom pair with no kicker on an obviously dangerous flop. I ended up pushing from under-the-gun with king-ten suited (something I never do) and the big blind was almost all-in so I knew I would get a call. She turned over ace-8 suited, she hits an 8, I hit a king, she hits an ace, hand over. Two hands later I get to limp with ace-2 of clubs from the small blind, two clubs on the flop, I'm first to act so I push all in. The big blind thinks for a short while and then re-raises all in over the top, the other player folds. I'm hoping at this point that the big blind has hit his king and I just need a club or an ace to win the hand ... unfortunately he turns over king-3 of clubs so there are VERY few clubs left in the deck. Thankfully an ace comes on the river and I survive. I end up bubbling, finishing 9th and just missing out on final table. I could have folded my way on to final table and got the points but I wanted to try and chip up because the blinds were high and I'm tired of folding my way on to final table and having no chips.

This Sunday I'm playing in a cash game with friends from the APL. Buy-in is $100 and there's about 25 - 30 people playing so the first prize is more than $1400. These are usually very tough games so it would be VERY nice to take that down, not just for the money but the prestige of running through a quality cash game field!

APL Full Tilt Poker State Finals

Sunday just gone was the APL State Finals sponsored this time by Full Tilt Poker and held at the Caloundra RSL. Its a qualifying event with the top 3 from each venue and the top 10 from each region scoring entry in to the tournament. I was (very) lucky to scrape in by finishing 3rd in my regular Monday night game at Bulimba.

There were almost 500 players (495 officially I think) and our region sent about 20 or so. For the first time the tournament was taking part in one seating rather than having 2 different sessions ... which I think people had been asking for. It was a good venue and having all the players seated at once made for great atmosphere and a sea of tables.

States suits my game quite well because its a deep/er starting stack (5000) and longer blinds (25 mins in the early stages rather than 15). Also, most of the players tighten up a bit because they're actually playing for something so there's not as many dumb plays ... or at least I didn't see as many (thankfully). "Mr Sparkles" was the first out for our region as he unluckily walked in to trips when he hit two pair on the flop. At the first break none of our team were really chipped up and the stacks ranged from around 1000 up to 7500. I sat at 3500 and knew with the blinds going up I had to start building my stack and quickly. Thankfully that happened second hand after the break as I took down a good pot with pocket kings on my big blind and I was soon up to almost 10,000. Unfortunately around this time our defending State champ, Paul McGougan bust out when his ace-king pre-flop push got too many callers and it didn't hold up.

By the next break, our original table had been broken and we were down to around 200 players. Our team was still doing well as we had about 10 or 12 players in but we all knew the next portion of the game was make or break. I was on a much tougher table with the tournament chip leader on my right and constantly pushing the table around. I took a stand, pushing all-in with pocket 10's and got two callers from the big stacks. Thankfully the board comes out all low and they both check it down and my ten's hold up.

After chipping up to about 20,000 in chips, the final hand before the next break I had ace-jack off-suit under the gun with the blinds at 2000/4000 and thought for a while what to do. I ended up raising 3 times the blind hoping I could just take down the blinds without a fight. Unfortunately that wasn't the case as "The Mouth" from Townsville on the other side of the table pushed all-in over the top of me. The one-time chip leader on my right who was big blind had been crushed in this stage of the tournament so he called but was well short of the re-raise and my original bet. I got up from the table cursing my luck that this was the last hand before the break and why did The Mouth have to go all-in. Knowing the blinds would go up when I got back from the break and with over 50K in the pot I knew I had to call and hope for the best. I thought I was going in ahead but was in trouble when The Mouth turned over pocket jacks and the big blind turned over queens. The announcer came over to call the hand and by this time I was begging for an ace. The board comes all low, 2, 4, 8 ... by this time I'm yellling for an ace to bail me out and it comes on the turn ... the cheer goes up from my friends who are watching. Knowing I need to just dodge the river, I go nuts as the final card is another ace giving me trips and the pot!!

During the break, I'm just buzzing knowing that I'm right back in the tournament with a healthy 56K in chips. Our team has lost a few more and with 86 players left, we're down to just 3 or 4 survivors. We come back and my luck continues to flow getting pocket kings under the gun, raising strongly and getting a caller. The board comes out all low with a possible flush draw, so I bet about 1/2 the pot and after some thought the other guy lays down his ace-jack. With a few more small wins I'm up over $100K and luck is on my side. I limp in with king-jack off-suit, the short stack next to me pushes all-in over the top, he's called by a shorter stack next to him and by the time everyone else folds the odds are way too good for me to lay it down. Against pocket 7's and king-queen suited, a jack comes as the highest card on the board and I take down a big pot and knock 2 people out. As I'm stacking the chips the next hand is dealt and the short-stack under the gun pushes all-in for about 25K. I look down and see ace-queen off-suit and after thinking for a few seconds call. As I continue stacking another player goes all-in over the top for 85K. I'm in shock at this point as I wasn't expecting anyone else to call, let alone re-raise. I look at my support crew behind the table (by this time I'm the only left from our region) and they know what I have ... but having just chipped up I don't want to put my tournament on the line so I lay it down. Short stack shows pocket kings, re-raiser turns over pocket queens ... good fold by me and even better when no ace comes but a king does.

I take down a few smaller pots and win a race against someone when I have king-queen and he pushed over the top with ace-ten. I figured he was ahead but I had raised and I would still have chips left should I fold but the odds for me to call were more than good enough to take a chance. The king comes, his ace doesn't. We're now inside the top 20 and my run of cards turns ice-cold, the blinds are up to 15K/30K, pushes are coming from all sides and my stack is dwindling. With 25K left and me in the small blind, we're on the bubble (down to 17 players, top 16 get cash) and there's a short stack on the other side of the table from me, if I can just make it through this hand. I get dealt pocket 4's but if I call I don't have enough chips to cover the big-blind let alone put him to a decision. He has two random cards which are likely over my pair but will get to see all 5 cards. I agonise for a few minutes (hoping other players will get knocked out) and then eventually throw them away knowing I'm likely just playing for the cash now. Big blind had 2 - 9 but I still consider it a good fold considering the position of the tournament.

Thankfully the short-stack on our table gets knocked out by a straight on the river and cheers go up as we're all in the money. We now get moved to the final two tables and thankfully I pick the ace card which means I get the dealer position so I get a whole round of the table before I have to play a hand. One player gets knocked off the other table, so I move up another spot. My cards stay ice-cold and I get queen-five off on my big blind and I'm up against an all-in with pocket 4's and a call by pocket 6's. With an ace, king, ten on the board I have outs with any queen or jack but hit neither, game over. The 4's also get knocked out but since I had less chips I finish 15th, he finishes 14th. I get my $500 cheque and congratulations from the guys from my region who had hung around to support me. After kicking off at 11am, I finish around 8:30pm ... thankfully the breaks made it easier but it was a long day and hard work. All thoroughly enjoyed tho of course and capped off with some celebratory late night Chinese with some of the team (the duck was gooood).

(Me, in green, early on in the tournament)