Horrid start, strong finish

I'm heading to bed shortly but I thought I'd post quickly.

Things actually started really well. I had good stacks on a number of tables close to the final table ... then it all went wrong. I had some awful beats and things just didn't go my way. On the bubble, small blind shoves with 2 5 off and I snap call with kings in the big blind. He of course rivers a straight leaving me now short-stacked and I was out soon after. I finished 5th on another final table and then went on an absolute drought of not cashing (13 straight games).

Near the end of my session I started to have some luck and had some hands hold up finally. I finished the night with two good stacks on final tables. I lost two flips in a row on one and went out in 5th but thankfully got the other won. I was getting run over a bit heads-up but took a stand with king 8 off and thankfully flopped an 8 to beat his king jack and soon after got the win.

The win takes my firsts to 5 already which is a solid start less than half way through the month. I also unlocked the next VIP Stellar Reward so my bankroll is now up to $1160. Yes, my solid finish basically broke me even for the night.

Here's a song I like that's getting a fair bit of airplay on Triple J at the moment. I don't usually like remixes but I'm a fan of the original by MGMT which was also used as the opening song to the movie 21.

A win for the ages

The last day or two has been back to the see-saw up and down that I went through a few weeks back.

Monday I played just 6 games and failed to cash in any of them. Tuesday I came back, played 9 games, got two 3rd places and a 6th. Last night I played for a while longer, 18 games but cashed just 3 of them, 2 min-cashes and a 5th.

I've been sticking mainly to the $3.25 45 man games with a few $2.20 180 mans thrown in. I'm not sure why I bother playing those because I haven't done any good lately. I got close last night in one of the 4 but bubbled going out in 23rd spot.

After work I played 5 of the 45 mans. The plans were to get to the gym and do some cardio before it got too busy but I was waiting for some clothes to dry so figured I would get in some time on the tables.

I grabbed a 3rd in the second game I played, called an over-shove with ace king, he turned over 4 9 and hit a 4 to take down the hand and knock me out. I bubbled the next game when I went to the final table short-stacked and couldn't get a shove-worthy hand and had to defend my big blind and couldn't hit.

My final game of the night is where the title of this post comes from. I found myself in trouble with the blinds at 100/200, I was the big blind with just 540 behind. I had pocket 5's in the big blind and had 2 limpers in front of me. I figured I had to try and get rid of one of them and hope for the best so I pushed all-in but called by both of them. Thankfully there was a 5 on the flop so I survived and tripled up. Next hand I got pocket queens, the chip-leader next to me min-raised so I shoved over the top but he called with king jack suited. I had him labelled as loose before this but this call confirmed it by him. Thankfully my queens survived and I now had a good stack of over 5000 (blinds still at 200) and was the chip leader on my table.

By the time the blinds were at 600 I was down to 3600 in chips but picked up a few shovable hands and took down a few blinds to get a healthy stack again. When the final table formed I had an ok stack of over 6000 but so did most other people. There was some crazy play on the table and by the time a few players had survived all-ins I was soon short-stack with 1 more player to go before the money. With the loose player still on my right, and blinds now at 2000, it was folded around to him in the small blind and of course he raised. I only had 1200 behind and had queen 2 but against him I didn't mind called and he turned over 9 4 off. I hit a queen on the flop, took down the hand and moved ahead of 2 other stacks.

The bubble burst but with the blinds so high compared to my stack I had to get it in soon and double-up. I had 2 limpers to my big blind and I had queen 3 off and checked. The flop came down 8 5 3 and the loose player checked to me. I thought the one limper from early/mid position shouldn't have hit that flop so if I shove I should take it down and chip-up. I push but am called by the limper who played ace 8 off. I'm in trouble but hit runner runner flush to escape and almost triple up.

By the time the hourly break comes around we were down to just 5 players left and I realised I was now in second place. The chip leader had 3 times the chips I did and knocked out 2 players in one hand when he raised and flopped a straight. He then took out the 3rd placed finisher and had a HUGE chip lead 58,000 - 9,500 when the heads-up battle began.

I was more than happy with second and didn't have high expectations facing that sort of deficit and with the blinds at 1500/3000. I got dealt 4 8 off and 6 10 off first 2 hands and folded them both. Considering the state of the game, I probably should've taken my chances with the 6 10 but didn't. So in the big blind with just 1560 behind (chip lead was 62,790 to 4710) I called his push with queen 9 suited. He turned over 5 6 off and I was looking good until he flopped a 6 ... I said "gg" but spiked a queen on the river to survive. Next hand I get queen 9 again and push all-in, he calls with ace 8 off but I spike a queen on the flop and now have a playable stack of over 18,000 (he still has over 45K).

Next hand he raises from the small blind and I have ace queen off in the big blind and shove over the top. He calls turning over king 4 off, neither of us hit so I win and now have the chip lead! I don't complete the small blind on the next hand but a few hands later I'm now in a dominant chip position with 44,000 to 23,000. I complete the small blind with 9 2 suited (spades) and he checks the big blind. Flop comes down 9, 4, 5 but they're all hearts. He shoves for 19K and I call hoping to hold on, he turns over 5 6 off without a heart and I'm now on my feet fist-pumping for the win and do!!

I couldn't believe I had fought back from short-stack with about 25 players left, survived the final table bubble and fought back from the unbelievable chip position during heads-up to take down the win. To top it off I even got a run in at the gym so a winning and productive day.

Update from the last week

Since my last post things have been a bit more consistent for me. Thankfully no really bad days, just break-even or winning ones which makes a nice change.

Day 1 was profitable on the back of the satellites to the Sunday Quarter Million as I cashed in 2 out of 3 of them and the next day I cashed 3 out of 8 of them. My concern over those few days is that I was just managing min-cashes and of course bubbles in the other tournaments I was playing.

On Monday I played in the Guiness World Record Tournament on PokerStars against almost 150,000 other players. With 5 minute levels the structure certainly didn't suit my style of play and I never managed to build a big enough stack to stay ahead of the blinds. I finished in the top 25,000 players which wasn't the min-cash but the level or two above that.

As I was playing in the above event and it was an early start on the Monday I decided to also play in the Sunday Quarter Million rather than just converting the buy-in in to tournament dollars. Again, it was a massive field of 33,000 players and I was disappointed to finish just outside of the money. I'm yet to cash in this tournament and I had a good stack for much of it and was feeling good about my chances. I think I tried once or twice to get people off hands which didn't work and getting close to the bubble I ended up shoving under-the-gun with ace 9 suited. Normally its a move I wouldn't make but if I had stolen the blinds I would've been securely in the money ... not normally a concern but when I qualify through this game using FPP's any cash is a bonus. So I shove ace 9 suited and get flatted by someone in midposition and not surprisingly he turns over aces and although I have outs on the river I don't find any and fall agonisingly short.

I decided to spend the rest of the day playing and just took a break for lunch, dinner and a nap in the afternoon (because of the early start time of the first tournament). A couple of bubbles and a couple of min-cashes later and my bankroll was under $300 for the first time in ages which was a bit of a concern. Its not that I need the money its just that I'm not moving forward but feel like I've been playing well without reward.

I was just playing the $3.25 45 man tournaments and a few $2.20 180 mans. After short-stacking my way in to a final table I got some cards 4-handed and managed to survive the eliminations and get heads-up. I faced a huge chip deficit and large blinds compared to my stack so got it in first hand with king jack off ... unfortunately he had ace jack and I couldn't find a king or a ten on the river to improve. The $30 for second was a nice upswing tho especially since I was happy just to cash and surprised to make it as far as I did.

I had a few cashes around that one, felt I was playing well and near the end of the session got a win in one of the 45 mans. I went to the final table with a good starting stack and played well getting to the heads-up with a 3:2 chip lead. It was a quick heads-up battle that was over on the 3rd hand when I called a min-raise with 9, 10 off, 9 was the top pair on the flop, he shoved I called he turned over king high and my hand held.

I finally managed to final-table one of the 180 mans after bubbling or min-cashing them for seemingly so long. I often just get blinded out in these situations so I wanted to play for the win in this situation. I got pocket 7's in the hijack first hand and when it folded around to me I shoved for 4 or 5 times the blinds and was snap-called by a big stack on the button. He turned over aces and I was done, out in 9th.

So bankroll over US$360. I didn't play today and am not sure when I'll be playing next but hopefully the decent form will continue.

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.

APL - Broadway Hotel

After missing out on the final table last week, I was keen to get back on track at the Broadway and move back up the venue leaderboard.

As per usual, I got NO cards early. Actually, I did get ace king in the small blind first hand but out of position and that early on I was happy just to see a flop as I didn't think I could get either limper to fold. I hit a king on the river but someone was slow-playing a flopped set but bet weak on the river so it didn't cost me much to see what he was doing.

I was patient after the break and when the blinds were too much of my stack I pushed all-in vs 2 limpers with ace jack off. I got called by a limp under-the-gun with ace 4 off and by pocket 2's. Thankfully I caught a jack on the turn and took down a sizable pot that got me back in the game. From there I started to see some hands and continued to build my stack.

Close to the bubble I raise-folded with ace jack short-handed when I got re-raised by an older woman in the big blind. I decided to lay it down as I didn't think it was a good spot but because of that I went to the final table short-stacked.

I drew the big blind spot on the final table which wasn't great with my stack but took down the first hand which gave me some time. I later called all-in with ace ten off on the button and my ace high won. Next hand I got kings, shoved, got isolated and took it down. I later defended my big-blind vs a small-blind shove with ace 2 off, was ahead pre-flop and again it held. I ended up getting knocked out when my big blind was 3/4 of my stack and I had to call a small blind push. He turned over ace king off so my cards were live ... flopped a 3, he flopped the nut flush draw, turned an ace and then rivered the flush.

I finished in 4th place which I thought would give me the venue lead but unfortunately the woman who won the final table was also in contention and now has a 29 point lead on me. I'm 19 ahead of a friend of mine who is in 3rd and another friend of mine is in 5th. Its a tight contest still so I need another couple of final tables or a win to put a gap on the field and then head to States.

Online frustrations

I've had a couple of frustrating sessions on Pokerstars over the last couple of days. I played for a couple of hours on Friday night and then most of the day yesterday.

Friday night started well with a 6th place in a $3.25 45 man but from there I failed to cash in the next 9 tournaments. I fell just short in a Sunday Quarter Million qualifier and bubbled 2 or 3 of the $2.20 180 mans. I ran in to a number of big hands at the wrong time. Approaching the money someone would minraise and I'd have pockets in the blinds. The plan was to call pre and then push on the flop and hope they had missed the flop or had an under-pair to the board. Unfortunately, the times I did this the opponent infact had an over-pair.

I started yesterday slowly taking a few misses before I cashed a Sunday Quarter Million qualifier. From there things went to shit as I got nothing out of the next 15 games. It felt like suck-out central ... with some seemingly horrible beats that were taking their toll on my patience.

I then cashed 3 of the next 8 games, a 7th a 6th and a 4th all in the $3.25 45 man games. After another stretch of failing to cash, I finished the night with 3 out of 4. Bubbling the final table of two 180's and finally a second place finish in a 45 man. Just before the final table I tripled my stack by taking out one player and crushing another stack when I had two all-ins in front of me and I had kings in the big blind short-handed. First player pushed with king queen off, small blind tried to isolate with pocket tens and I caught the last king on the flop to crush them both.

A couple of hands in to the final table I took out two players with pocket aces holding up against ace queen off and pocket 5's. So by this point I had a massive chip-stack in comparison to the rest of the table. Not surprisingly I went a little card dead at this point but cruised through to the final 3. Still in a good position I turned up the pressure without much luck against my opponents. By the time we got down to heads-up the other guy had a 2:1 chip lead having knocked out the last player. I OPR'd him and found out he was a good player and seemed to be showing it at the table. He had one gear heads-up and that was either all-in or fold. With his chip lead and the blinds at 1/10 of my stack the battle didn't last too long. I pushed all-in from the small blind with ace 5 off, got called by queen ten suited and he flopped a queen.

So at the bottom of yesterday my bankroll was down to the low $400's but I got it back to $470 by the end. A losing couple of days and very frustrating. I've been at this same level for the last couple of months, going up and down between $400 and $600. I feel like I'm playing well, I know at times I need to be more aggressive stealing blinds late but its hard at these levels when you get called by rubbish a lot of the time. I really feel like I have something to prove ... that I can smash this level, but its just not happening right now. As you can see from the graph below, its only the $2 games that I'm not ahead on. Sure, I'd also like to be a lot more profitable at the $3 level ... but at least I'm a little ahead.

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 ...

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.

July numbers & August goals

So here are my numbers from the month of July:

In The Money 22% (63/290)
Finish late 11%
ROI 25%
Profit $79

I had 8 wins, 3 seconds, 7 thirds and 42 fourth to ten places.

My goals were:

In The Money: 25% - actual 22%
Profit: $100 - actual $79
Wins: 4 - actual 8

Summary:
So I just missed the In The Money % and profit due to a poor last week but I smashed the number of wins. I was really pleased with the number of wins and especially the ratio of wins to seconds in heads-up play. My finish late was down from previous months because I played so many 45 man tournaments and you have to finish top 4 to finish late in those.

This month I'm going to start playing a few more $3.25 45 man tournaments. I played a few over the weekend and out of 4 games I bubbled the final table twice which was frustrating. I played another one yesterday and came in 6th. I had a strong stack for the entire tournament but lost a chunk just before the final table when I ran ace jack in to pocket aces 5 handed ... ouch. I got sucked out on in a blind vs blind battle and was short-stacked the rest of the way, card dead and essentially getting blinded out.

The rest of the day went ok tho as I ended my drought of wins as well as getting a 2nd and a 3rd so a profitable day and my roll is back over $410 again after slipping to $380 at one point on the weekend.

My goals for August are:

In The Money: 25%
Profit: $150
Wins: 5

I'm ranked just outside the top 3% on OPR at the moment, I'd like to see that improve too.

Rough night of online poker

The night before last I started to come down with cold/flu like symptoms so instead of going to a trivia night yesterday, I instead lay low and played online at PokerStars. I'm pretty sure I got the cold from a friend on Sunday so I wasn't keen to pass it on to anyone else.

Yesterday's session started off well enough. I came 5th in my second game and then 2nd two games later to break my streak of not reaching heads up. The heads-up battle was frustrating because I couldn't catch a break against someone I felt I should clearly beat. The final table had been a longer one so by the time we got to heads up the blinds were high already. I had a commanding chip lead (3:1) and we ended up getting it all-in first hand. Opponent limped in, I had ace rag in the big blind so I raised solidly and he re-raised all-in with jack 2 suited. The flop comes safe for me as did the turn and then BINK, jack on the river and our stacks are now even. It went back and forth from there until I had a 2:1 chip lead and I re-raised him all-in with ace 5 suited. He turned over ace queen off and held on to win. He ended up raising me all-in and the blinds were too big to fold and I called with queen 8 suited. He turned over 6 10 suited and rivered a straight with his 6. Frustrating ...

After those early cashes, it seemed to go down hill from there. I felt I was playing well and making the right moves mostly, but had some ugly, ugly beats.

1. Raised solidly with aces from early position, called by the player next to me and then re-raised by the player next to him. Everyone else folded, I raise all-in, the player next to me takes an age to decide and then calls, as did the re-raiser. The re-raiser turned over jacks, the guy next to me turned over 5's and I had aces. Great for me until a 5 on the river, decimating my stack.

2. Two tables left in a tournament and I have pocket kings in the big blind. Someone min raises under the gun and is called by a loose bad player right next to him. I re-raise all-in, under the gun thinks and then folds ... loose player eventually calls turning over jack ten off. Great for me ... flop is 2 2 jack, blank turn and then jack on the river. I'm out and Mr Jack-Ten off is chip leader.

3. Second level of a 90 man tournament I have aces on the button (I think). Five players limp in so I raise 5 times the blinds (probably should have gone more) and get called by all but one of them. Flop comes king, rag, rag so I lead out with a strong bet. I get re-raised by someone in earlyish position. I'm committed to the pot and I put him on king something so I re-raise all-in. He calls and turns over king jack off ... jack on the turn and I'm gone.

4. The worst of all tho was late in a tournament, two tables left I think. Someone from middle position raises solidly and is called by 2 others and I'm big blind with pocket jacks. I should've shoved but thought I'll call, see the flop and evaluate from there. Flop comes 7 5 3 (I think). Small blind bets min so I re-raise him. Other two players fold, he calls. Another 3 on the turn and he shoves all-in. I don't believe he has the 3 and am virtually sure my hand is still best so I call. He turns over pocket 2's, fist pump from me until a 2 comes on the river. I could not believe it ... I'm out and he's the chip leader. Off the top of my head, one of the worst beats I have been given. Yes, I should've shoved pre-flop or even on the flop and there's a chance he may have folded (although somehow I think he would have called at least on the flop).

There were other ugly occurences but that's enough of those stories for now. Yes, it was a rough, rough night and I'm a little scarred. I likely won't be playing on Friday and Saturday so I will tonight while I hopefully recover from this cold (and these recent beats).

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.

PokerStars update

Another relatively short night of online poker last night on PokerStars. I was supposed to be having breakfast with a friend this morning so I made sure I was in bed early.

Again, my theory at the moment is to just smash up the $1 90 man and 45 man turbo games and make sure I grow the bankroll and develop my game before bringing in the $2 games.

Last night went well, again happy with the way I was playing. Doing a lot more pushing from position, taking a few more races and attacking more blinds. I played 12 tournaments, final tabled 6 (45 man money starts at 7th) and cashed 4. I didn't get a win but had a 3rd, 4th, 5th and a 6th so it was a profitable night.

At one stage I final tabled 4 tournaments in a row! The first I bust in 9th of a 45 man so it wasn't a cash but the next 3 I was pleased to see were all 90 man tournaments. I was concentrating on the first one I final tabled so at the time I didn't even realise we were already in the money of another.

So I'm back with a positive ROI for the month of June and the bankroll is back up to US$326. Small steps.

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!!

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.

PokerStars Turbo Takedown

I mentioned it in my last post but it looks like my luck may be turning.

So far, I haven't enjoyed playing in the PokerStars FPP games, mainly because the play I've seen so far tends to be awful. Also, I don't earn FPP's that quickly so it seems like a waste to blow them in rubbish tournaments.

Tonight tho I took a punt and played one of the small satellites to the $1 million PokerStars Turbo Takedown tournament. As this is the 1 year anniversary of the tournament, PokerStars have included a brand new Porsche to the winner (as well as the $40K first prize money).

I was playing in the 25 + R FPP 2 x turbo game, up against 126 other players. I didn't have much luck early once running in a full house when I had a set and the same player called my all-in re-raise with pocket 4's and I couldn't unrun him. I think I rebought 2 or 3 times before the break and then took the add-on to give myself a chance. After the break we found out that with the FPP's in the pool, the top 6 would be going through to the main event.

When the blinds had flown up to 3000, I was big blind with 150 left, someone raised pre-flop and I had 3 5 suited. I couldn't fold and managed to catch a 3 to survive against the raisers ace queen. The tournament was pretty much a blur from 30 players down but I finally started picking up some hands and even better they held up.

Players were getting knocked out rapidly as the blinds continued to rise quickly and final table formed. I mostly stayed out of trouble and was relieved to see the big stack knock out a few players and then suck-out heads-up against the unlucky 7th placed finisher.

So, I'm in to the Turbo Takedown with 30,000 other players. 10,000 get paid ($35) so fingers crossed I can get in the money in this massive field and who knows, maybe I can turn my 100FPP investment in to something much, much more.

Down-swing ending?

You know you're running bad/luck is not on your side when this (below) happens all in one night and you play just eight games. Here is how I got knocked out of three of them:

1. Chipped up, later in the tournament, a very loose/bad player shoves massively all-in from early position. I noted that he had made similar moves with queen ten off and jack ten suited within the last 5 minutes alone. I have ace king suited and make the call for my tournament life. Against most players I wouldn't take this race but this spot I think there's a fair chance I'm ahead or just behind (small pockets) and its a great spot to double up and become chip leader. He turns over pocket 4's no surprise and I'm happy enough to take that race. First card out 2, then 3 and then my king on the turn, yes!! Next card out 5 ... uh oh, open-ended straight draw for him and a cruel ace on the river to give me two pair but him the straight and I'm out.
   
2. Final table (no one out yet), I have a few chips and am in a good spot but with blinds rising I could use a double-up. You beauty, get dealt aces! The big stack is under the gun and just doubles the blinds so I shove all-in which is probably double what's he's got in the pot so I know he is unlikely to fold. He calls with ace king off and I'm well ahead. First card out is red and then FOUR running spades for him to make a flush (I don't have one) ... gone.
   
3. Another final table (just one person gone), I again I have chips but could use a double-up. A player raises from early position but doesn't look too strong, I have pocket kings ... all-in over the top. He eventually calls with pocket 4's so I'm looking good until first card out is of course a 4. My hand doesn't improve and I'm out ... ouch.

Thankfully the last couple of days have improved a little. I've only been playing the $1 90 man turbo games, just to build my bankroll up again so I can take more shots at the $2 90 and 180's.

Wednesday I made 2 final tables out of 8 games, no deep finishes unfortunately. Then yesterday I made 2 final tables out of 3, one 3rd place and one 5th which isn't too bad. Hopefully I can have a strong showing this weekend to finish off May.

Weekend results

I played a LOT of games this weekend. Didn't have any plans so other than a basketball game on Saturday night, some grocery shopping and a few other things ... I spent the rest of my time on PokerStars. Its now 11:30 on Sunday night and I'm not sure if its the time of night that has me tired or the drain of playing so much poker.

It was a rough weekend on the tables for me too. I had so many big hands cracked by absolutely rubbish cards. I won't go in to too much detail, but trust me, it wasn't pretty.

I was mostly playing the $1 90 man games, playing a lot of them, but I also played a few of the $2 90 man non-turbo games and also tried my luck at the $4 180 man non-turbos. The only highlight from playing most of Saturday was 2nd place finish, another final table and a couple of other cashes.

Tonight went a bit better as I made final table in the $2 game as well as the $4 game ... at the same time. I lost a key hand just prior to the final table of the $2 game so instead of being in the top 4 or 5 stacks I was down about 8th. Essentially there was an all-in and two big stacks. Instead of just checking it down, I got milked by the other player with minimum bets on all 3 streets. The board came queen ten rag and I had ace king, by the turn I had the straight draw, the nut flush draw and if the ace hit I had the top kicker. Nothing came for me and it turns out he had pocket kings. Blinds were quite high on the final table and I ended up going out in 7th place.

The $4 game started well for me but by the time we were down to the top 30 I was near the bottom of the leaderboard. I tried to be patient and wait for a hand but it wasn't coming. We got near the bubble and I was just praying I could make the money. I eventually got pocket kings and I just had enough left to call the blind and thankfully they held up. Next hand I pushed it in again with ace queen off and the big blind was the only caller with ace 6 off. Again it held up and I was safely in to the money. I made final table and watched as a few people got knocked out early. With blinds rising, I pushed all-in with ace ten as an attempted steal and the big blind called also with ace ten so we split it. Next hand I'm under the gun with ace queen off and I'm still short-stack by a fair margin so I push it all-in again. I get called by pocket 8's and ace 2 off in the big blind. My hand doesn't improve and the 8's take the hand down. So I finish that tournament also in 7th for a prize of $25. I would have loved to have gone a little further as each place up from there is another $10 and there's some really good cash for the top 3.

I'm happy with the way I played. I've decided to be more aggressive on final tables in order to give myself a better chance of winning or getting in the top 3, rather than hanging on and waiting for other players to get knocked out. So shoving with ace ten and ace queen when I was short-stacked is fair enough. Besides, I usually get called by weaker hands so the opportunity to chip up is definitely there.

So at the end of what feels like a rough weekend, bankroll is at US$340.

Below is my graph from SharkScope. Not tough to see when I finished 5th in that big field tournament for $102. The first "hill" on the graph where it goes from 0 to 100 and then back to 0 is when I was playing late last year on the credit I won from PokerStars. From then on its the US$12 I deposited.

Night session

Going to bed now ... its 11:20pm, which is actually quite early for me when I'm playing poker. Chose not to play in the big field tournament as I really wanted to get some sleep and get to the gym in the morning. So I just played a number of $1 90 man games and one $2 90 man non-turbo game (because they go for over 3 hours).

All in all a good night. After my win this afternoon, I did very well in the $2 game, getting to the final table and then to heads up. Unfortunately I allowed the other guy to be extremely aggressive when there was 3 of us left so by heads-up he had a massive chip lead. I ended up pushing all-in post flop with middle pair but unfortunately he had me out-kicked and the game was over. Although I'm yet to come first in one of the $2 games, a $33 second prize isn't too bad.

Other than that tournament, I cashed a couple of other times with the next best being a 5th place. Bankroll now at US$350. Night

An afternoon session

We're very quiet at work at the moment so for the last couple of hours I've been playing sit'n go's on PokerStars.

Over the last few days I've been playing a few of the $1.75 turbo 18 man games. They're fairly quick and easy to play a few at a time. I've been up and down as far as my results go and I don't think I've actually won one yet. Top 4 get paid and I'm usually 3rd or 4th which is a little frustrating because the top 2 get paid much better.

This afternoon I was running baaaad. Nothing was going right, I couldn't win hands. I was going in ahead but coming out behind almost every time. I mentioned it to Adam at the time, I must've played 6 or 7 games without getting in the money which is unusual for me because I should usually cash at least twice in that number.

In the second 90 man game that I played I was struggling with about 35 players left and would've been close to last place. With a few well timed pushes and wins I managed to chip and I was in 8th with about 20 to go. I stayed in that spot for a while and when the final table formed I had a lot of work to do. We lost a few players quite quickly but I made it in to the top 3 and that battle was very even for about 10 minutes or so with one player tending to have a bit of a lead for most of it. The big stack took out the other player when his pocket 5's held up against a flush draw and he had a 5 to 1 chip lead going in to heads up. I didn't think I had much chance but a few of my ace high pushes were called by his king high's and I soon had the chip lead. I then flopped top pair king on a king, five, five board and I pushed all-in, he called with ace high and didn't improve and I had won!!

Shortly after that I finished 3rd in an 18 man turbo so I finished with two cashes before I left the office. Hopefully that form continues in to tonight.