3rd place

The last 10 days Ive had zero time to play any poker what so ever, live or online. Yesterday I finally had a day so I went ahead and played a $1 sng. When I go long periods of time without any poker I come back playing ABC. That was supposed to be my plan comming into this SNG. In the begining of the SNG I was back and forth between the the comp screen and the TV screen. Until I noticed the player on my left being super aggresive PF and Post Flop. The 1st hand i play is against him. I tried to outplay him outta position with a weak hand, and I ended up being outplayed, I was left with only 800 in my stack. A few hands later I picked up KK in the sb, I went ahead and just limped knowing he would raise outta the bb, and that exactly what he did. I ended up doubling up to even with my KK by letting him do all the betting and rasing.








I won a good amount of the hands I was involved with this guy with top pair weak kicker and middle pairs or just betting him outta the hand.






I managed to make it to the money by picking up small pots. I also got some help from the guy on my left as he knocked out the majority of the table. Before I knew it was short stack doubled up a few times by hitting the river but couldnt get anything goin. Finally got knock out with a garbage hand by another garbage hand.

Rolls at 297 and change

Back In Vegas

This time around I opted to play a heads up match, instead of a SNG/MTT. After a long work week filled with "heaps" of overtime I figured it would be easier for me to focus on just one player. My opponent in this paticular match was somewhat aggresive PF, he did alot of min raising PF. I chipped away at his stack little by little by calling alot of his PF min raises regardless of my holdings and trying to outplay afterwards (which worked through out the match). I felt I had a good read on him. This match didnt last too long less than 20 hands I think. This paticular hand he actually limped in PF. He checks the flop to me and I bet, turn comes we both check. Then he bluffs the river with a pot bet, I'm too dumb to fold I call I win. And yes I was holding 8 5 off and he was holding 3 6 off.

Not alot of fireworks after that hand. I resumed my play earlier of chipping away small ball style. Here comes the last hand. Since these caps are such poor quality he's holding ? ? and I have Qc 10h

( You guys can tell the flop). We both check this flop. Bets the turn I call. I spike the Q on the river I make a pot size bet he reraises all in. Not what I wanted to see, but I figure if I call and lose we'll be back to where we started. So I make the call and pleasantly suprised when I see 7c 7s.

Bankroll = 297.30

A Long Long Wait...

After I lost the previous SnG, I played another one cos my buddy mucklare insisted that I play another one. $1.25 45 players again, cos it's getting late and I don't have to play it too seriously. It's level 6 now 50/100 and I still haven't played a hand yet, lost most of my chips to blinds and I finally have AsJc in BB with 2 callers in the pot until it got to the Button and he/she goes all-in for more than my chip stack [at $1125]. I reckon I had spent enough of my time waiting now so... and the Button makes a move... OK, I call and I'm all-in too. The other 2 callers folded. The Button shows 9d9h, I still have a chance with 2 over cards! Let's see the board... 5s 9c Qh Qc 3s! I played only 1 hand out of preference and I'm done... it's 1:20am now, I'm off to bed. Hope I don't dream of poker while I'm asleep! Bankroll account: $295.45.

Folded to the Final Table...

Had a few complaints that I haven't been playing "regularly" lately, I decided to play a $1.25 45 players again [cos I won last time] with my buddy mucklare. Didn't play a hand until the 2nd level 20/40 with $1545 in chips [oh! I had a few "walks"] JdJc in the CO, with only the Blinds in the pot I raised it to $245, SB calls and BB folds. Flop: Qh 9d 4c, SB checks and I bet $530; calls. Turn: 9c, SB checks so I'm all-in for $770; SB calls and is all-in for $610. SB shows AdJs... no idea what aoldsoul is calling for [?]. River: Ks, it's all in my favour and I actually knocked a player out too! $2950 in chips now!

Lost 16 players in 22 mins, I had 3 pocket pairs in a row; KK, 77 and 44 but had no action so nothing interesting to blog about. Blinds are now 40/80 with KcJd in SB, no callers... up to me I call and we see a flop: 6d 4s Jh. I bet $160 BB smooth calls. Turn: Ac, the scary Ace hits the board and I check, BB bets $80; too cheap for me to fold! River: 5d, again I check, BB bets $240 which makes it somehow "fishy"... I think for a few secs and I call! Great call cos BB rolls over 5s2c. Ship it!!! $3175 now!

60/120 with 22 left! $2625 in chips now which is below the average stack! 45 mins into the game now with 19 plys left... 50 mins 14 left... 51 mins 12 left... Getting such "cold deck" that I've got nothing better to do than checking how many players are left! 120/240 $1885 I desperately need a lot of help now! 10 plys left, playing short handed now, only 5 plys and they just sat down 2 of the massive chip leaders onto my table [what kind of help is that???]. Geez! After being bullied by the Chip Leaders I still managed to make the Final Table with $1165! Not a bad effort [I tell myself]!

On a 4 mins Break, I quickly clicked the "I'm Back" button cos I wanna quickly finish this game off but I must be the only one cos the Break still took 4 mins! 150/300 I lasted another level, 200/400 now I'm so short stack now after being blinded off $665. AdJc in my BB, the next ply UTG just lost a massive pot and now goes all-in for $3626, everyone folded except for me! Well it only cost me $265 to call and with AdJc I'm in for sure! The raiser shows AhKh! I need a Jack!!! Board: 4h Qc 7d 8h 3d, no Jack!

If only I had a few more chips, I'll be able to just fold my way to the $$$ but with the shortest chip stack at the table... it's was just too hard! The worst part is I came 7th, yep... I just "bubbled"! Bankroll account: $296.70. There's always a next time!

Another Tourny Another Loss

Seems like the team as a whole is on a slump lately, (with the exception of The Rock taking down the 45 person sng). My slump can be attributed to just plain old bad play and decision making. I think being stuck in training all day, and dreading going back to work in Vegas is taking away from my concentration when I do get a chance to play. My plan of attack is to just step away and take a break from playing. I'll wait to get back to Vegas let things smooth over at work and try to get into some kind of normal schedule again. Hopefully doing this will result in a turn around.

Peace

Another non-finish and the bankroll slipping away

Let’s try our luck at another $2+.25 no-limit hold em single table sit and go. No turbo again and time to build some money damn it.

5 minutes into the tournament and I haven’t played a hand yet but we have lost 3 player’s leaving us with a total of 6 remaining. There are a few people that have already doubled up and it’s fair to say this is the craziest sit and go I have played so far. I am of course the short stack and still have not played a hand besides the blinds.

Limits have gone up to 25/50 with 6 players till fighting it out with me included. I have only $985 left and am dying for a double up in a hurry! On double up would put me third in chips. Yep, meaning two players have plenty of chips and are bullying the table like they should when they are the big stacks.

For the first time since playing online poker I have seen someone (last person to act) check the nuts on the river. Now I am not aware of the rules ate Full Tilt Poker but am pretty sure at the WSOP if your last to act and you check the absolute nuts, like Jeff1987 did in the sit and go I’m playing, you get a penalty! Not only is it stupid not to try to get money from the other player’s involved in the hand by betting but it also open’s the door to collusion. It also speeds up the game and we move on to the next hand….

Out in 6th place without playing more than 5 hands throughout the tournament, besides the blinds. The hand is below but this is how the action went down. I am in the big blind with only $450 behind me. The blinds are 60/120 so I have over ¼ of my stack invested before I get cards. The only player that has been caught stealing, raises from the button and I look down at Q J. I think for a while before making the call knowing that if I hit I win and he is probably ahead of me preflop anyway but its time to gamble and when his cards roll over I am happy we are racing. He has only one over card and both mine are live. He flops an ace and its goodbye charlie for me.

Another dismal effort with not even a placing to show for it. Maybe Omaha single table sit and go is better for me?

2 Hands

I played two hands. 1st hand not worth talking about. I min raise 1caller in front of me. All in after the flop I fold. Last hand blinds are high, I'm shortstacked I move in with QJ on the button BB calls with KQ awesome....... we're at $302.45 peace out.

No turbo but same result!

After no luck or really bad play (which ever way you see it) I decide turbo is not for me and not good for the bankroll. So I decided it may be time to take a stance and just play a normal (not turbo) sit and go and see if the results are better off.

I take my seat at the $2+.025 sit and go and try to think of a strategy at the start to see what I can do and who may be the easiest to pick on etc etc. We have played a total of three hands and so far I have had nothing but have noticed a lot of action already. Pre-flop raises, check raising, big bets and wonder what’s the easiest and sneakiest way of avoiding this without getting my fingers stuck in the cookie jar? My answer is probably be aggressive to a certain extent. Not like a turbo where you can sit and wait for hands and hope for the best.

Ok so my first hand I play is Qc5c and I know what your thinking why play this hand? I’m the big blind and nobody has raised preflop so I naturally check and we see a flop. The board is below but you can see what I have when the flop comes down (a gutser straight as well as a flush draw).

Obviously I wouldn’t be staying in the hand if I thought neither were good. I know my flush is good and gambling that if the straight comes I win as well. This is why position at the table is so important! I am first to speak (worst position after the flop) I could easily lead out but there are still 3 other players to the flop and I don’t believe I have the best hand yet and wouldn’t have a clue on what they have. I end up losing most of my stack to jdesq who bets every street and of course nothing of mine came and we are down to a whopping $730!

Lucky not a turbo otherwise it was already time to make a move but with this being a normal sit and go I have all the time in the world to pick my spots and wait for hands. The blinds are slowly going up and only presently at $25-$50, which for me is still nice and cheap. Overall it has been thus far a tight table which is ok to try to pinch pots and steal blinds but its hard as a decent size raise for my chip stack is pretty much committing me to the pot!

A good few hands later I find myself with KhJh in early position. My options are either to raise or call, I can’t see myself folding. I smooth call hoping to see a free flop cheaply. It gets to the button and s/he makes it another $90 to call preflop. 3 other callers so now I have value and call hoping to maybe push on the flop. The flop comes down 9sAh7h. Beautiful, nut flush draw with plenty of promise. I check and so does everyone else till it gets the button who bets the pot which would put me all in. I have 2.5-1 pot odds to call with nothing but a gamble and I make the call. He shows A J, and I’m needing to hit the heart. Turn brings 3d, no luck and the river comes the 4h! BANG ship it too bankroll exp. It was a great example of a gamble paying off. It differs if I’m chip leader and make this play but as I’m the short stack at the time with nothing to lose and everything to gain with great pot odds, I believe it’s a call that should be made. Chip update = 1680 with blinds at $50-$100.

Now 5 handed and again I’m the short stack. Have only played 2 hands the entire tournament with seeing a flop and from memory have pinched 2 blinds. Its becoming a lot more aggressive the more we lose players and it’s now vital which spots to pick, otherwise out the door very quickly!

30 minutes later and major short stack I finally find something, on the button, Ah6h. Not a great hand but folded around to me so I raise knowing full well the table knows how tight I have been playing. The SB folds and the BB re-raises me. I call knowing I need to hit a draw or the ace. Flop comes down with an ace and I have not much behind me, and he shoves! He shoves when I have hit my pair. This guy is the second short stack and he makes a move on me with this. So I instant call and he shows me A 9. I’m out and again nothing but a nice waste of 50 mins to show for it.

Well done chump you win and knock me out. But that’s not what bothers me, it’s the table image I worked on before all this and to see it get used is terrible. I don’t understand how he didn’t put me on a bigger ace pre flop or a pair or anything that would dominate A 9! Whining and kicking a fuss is no good and its not always good to loose your cool over poker but its amazes me how the second short stack would make a move like that, and it also shows that showing a tight image is not always a winning way. Maybe I’m in great need of changing my game or making more moves.

Currently after losing more money to Full Tilt Poker the account balance is:

2 Hours of Hard Work

Was gonna play a $2.25 18 plys but the wait was just too long, so I played the $1.25 45 plys instead! My 1st playable hand was K10h in BB, UTG raises to 80, 2 callers then the SB re-raises to 120... so there's value in the pot and K10h [suited] looks pretty good so I call and everyone else just calls too! Flop: Qh Ac 3h. SB bets 40 with 4 callers! My hand is looking very good! Turn: Jd. SB bets 40 again, I had to raise it now to 500, UTG re-raises to 1000, magpie71 [who has been very quiet] re-raises all-in for 1190, so I might as well go all-in too for 1265 and gurken [UTG] calls! I've got the nut straight with a flush draw too... so I'm not worried! River: 5s!

After all the action, I managed to build my chip stack up to 2300 but my buddy would be very proud cos I played K10 just for him! As he always says "K10 the BEST" well... this time it is!

15 mins into the game, lost 10 plys and I've only played 1 hand! Blinds 25/50, I played AcJs, no pre-plop raise so 4 runners in. Flop: 5hAdJd, BB checks, RZIENTAK bets 150, I raised the pot to 675, KAMAGUTA calls, BB folds and back to RZIENTAK... calls! Turn: 9s, RZIENTAK checks, I went all-in 1630, KAMAGUTA calls and RZIENTAK folds. KAMAGUTA shows 89d. River: 5c! Beautiful! Busted flush draw, ship the 5510 pot this way! Which also makes me Chip Leader!

Blinds are now 50/100, they also moved the Chip Leader [yeah, i'm now 2nd] monkey5050 with 7574 to my table. I'm in the CO with QdQs, DroghyStyle raises all-in 1535, I re-raise all-in [to kick the rest out] 7385, kmart_kowboy calls all-in 1435. DroghyStyle shows KsAh and kmart_kowboy 4d4c! Board was: 7d 8d As Th Kc. It made a dint to my chip stack, I'm now down to 5850!

10 minutes of Cold Deck! Blinds 80/160, KdJd in the SB. Everyone folds, so I decided to bully the BB and raised the pot to 480, BB re-raises all-in for 975! Bad timing to bully but now I have to call. Sharkblack shows AsKc, is ahead of me unless.... I get lucky!

Which I did! I flopped a King high Flush and the 4d on the river was no help for Sharkblack! Gotta get lucky sometimes. 6485 2nd in Chips with 18 plys left!

Almost an hour of play now, 15 plys left. 250/500, KdKs in BB, no-one is in except for SB who calls, so I raised to 1500. Must seem like I'm a bully cos SB calls [with an amazing hand]. Flop: 5d4hJh, no Aces so my Kings looks good. SB checks, didn't wanna slow play incase an Ace appears so I bet 1000. SB check-raises and goes all-in for 4685, what? Well... I have to call! DroghyStyle shows 69d [nice bluff but bad timing].

A massive pot of 12370 comes my way but the best part was having The Pro as a supporter who wrote "Holla" on the chatboard when he saw 69d being shown! LOL! 90 minutes now, down to 6 plys, haven't played for a while, pretty much folded to the $$$ cos 6 places gets paid. 800/1600 with 16801, with AhQc UTG i raised the pot 5600, have 1 customer, the BB but... BB goes all-in 19193! Mmm... I really feel lucky with this hand so I call! BB - thebige263 shows 7s 7c, 2 over cards for me and I do feel lucky too!

My lucky day, I managed to river the nut Straight and knock a ply out too! 4 left with me in the lead with 34402 and 2nd only at 12100. I can just sit back n relax now! Down to 3 now, still at 800/1600; Jc6h in BB. SB calls and I check. Flop: 7d9c5h, check to the turn. Turn: 8s, which gives me a Straight to the 9, SB checks so I bet 3200. SB check-raises all-in 29114, I instant call! SB shows 69s, Oh... another split pot! Well we still need to see the River: 10h! Oops! Sorry but it just gave me the Straight to the Jack!

Heads Up now with 59204 in chips and the other with 6K! Was a very quick Heads Up game! 1000/2000, Kh9s in BB. Monkey5050 raises all-in 12296 with 9c5s, I call. Board reads: Qh Qc 6d 9d Td. I won the the $1.25 45 plys SnG with a pair of 9 King kicker! 2 hours of play now tops up $17.10 which brings our account to $306.95!

No result again - no luck or no good?

OK so here we are after being extremely busy with work (getting engaged, blah blah) its time to get back onto the scene and make some money and updates for the bankroll experience! I'm back onto the turbo sit and go and playing the $2.20 single table, top 3 get paid.

Haven’t had a hand since I have been at the table and am down to $1370 in chips purely losing money for the blinds. But as the theory suggests we are already one player down and limits are up twice to 30/60 blinds. I am currently 3rd last in chips but what makes these turbo sit and go’s really good is just waiting to double up once or twice throughout and you should still make the money!

Being the Donkey I am, not getting hands for me is a huge lack of impatience, something my fellow bankroll companions are very good at attaining. I finally get a bad hand to play ON THE BUTTON (as if it matters – like any 2 cards that are suited) and play it just as bad as I could as the other player flopped the nuts (K10) and silly old me just top pair with the weakest kicker as you can see below.




I amaze myself sometimes in leaving chips to play with and not stupidly losing the lot on that hand. Pecking away still managing to steal pots with nothing behind to back me up I end up doubling up on pocket rockets, and can’t even get the print screen to work to show you because I'm too excited – that’s probably the bad beat of the day!


I than sit back and relax and watch people knock each other out which amuses me as I’m the short stack with nothing left and still climb up to top 4. That’s where it all went pear shape. Still of course the short stack and blinds are starting to slowly kill me till I look down at As Ks beautiful I say and shove all my last money into the pot (which is approx 3 times the big blind). Small blind calls and I’m thinking ‘please just don’t pick up a hand – one time.” Bang he has pocket 8’s. To me its ok we are off to the races and if I manage to double up here I'm a good show to make the money at least. Unfortunately for me the 8 8 hold up and we are out on the bubble. It’s a vast improvement on my last sit and go but nothing to show for it and if you don’t have results behind you, you can’t prove nothing.

So the story ends in me donating to the full tilt sit and go crew another unhappy customer, ready to take it out next time. Why is there always next time and not now?

No Good

It's the weekend again, I decided to go ahead and rent a car to make the 4 hr drive back up to Michigan to escape being couped up in a hotel room all weekend. So it's about midnight I cruised over to a buds house to play a sng. Heres how it went down.

The tables very loose with a ton of all in orgies. I decide to sit back wait and pick my spots.

1st hand I decide to play is Qd 10h in the C.O. Blinds are still small maybe like 25-50 or 50-100?

PF :

CO I min raise

SB calls

Flop : 7d Ad 4s

SB comes out firing a week bet so I smooth call. My thought is hopefully he'll check the turn and I'll steal the pot right there.

Turn: Jd

SB comes out with another weak bet I just go ahead and smooth call for some reason (now that i think about it maybe I should have came over top) I was distracted in a conversation while drinking.

River: 10d -nice!

SB bets out like 320 in a pot that 1k+ I didnt he had the K so i reraise a bit he goes into the tank then folds.

After that hand that was pretty much it. The table went into all in orgy mode and i couldnt pick any good spots. I got blinded down and got put into push fold mode.

My last hand I pick up K8 only to be called by K9 with the flop putting an 8 and then the 9 ball.

(I gotta figure out how to place these screen caps)