come on Mr QQQ 1k by June 26th you can do it if you put your back into it Posted by scotty77
No problem Sir.
Just have a quick word with the guys at Sky; my boomswitch has been gathering dust all year, just a quick flick of the switch and it'll be a piece of cake.
There was a promising start to my session with a run to final table of the first MTT; a £2.30 Bounty Hunter with 74 runners. The end result was a disappointment when I lost my first big all-in flip of the game to bust in fifth place.
As seems the norm now the deck was anything but my friend when I entered a £5.75 game. A promising start took a big dent when I had the second best hand and lost 40% of my stack in a big three-way flush v flush v flopped top two pairs pot. A few orbits later I squeeze/shoved my last 19BB with TT over an all-in shortie and a caller. The caller didn’t fold his A9, a decision that makes this a big +ev spot for me obviously, unfortunately the cruel xxx99 run-out deprived me of the head-prize and a 45BB pot. After more than 60 attempts the £5.75 Bounty Hunters continue to be the Achilles Heel of this quest. For the variance to even out in these I must be due a big heater sooner or later, I’ll keep trying.
Next up was a £2 Speed Rebuy. This was good value with only 7 of the 14 remaining entrants (from 23 starters) opting to take the good-value add-on at the break, the other 7 putting themselves at a big disadvantage. The final table was surprisingly tough with no obvious soft spots, unusual at this buy-in. Maybe I was the fish? Anyway, I won a flip with 88>AT to burst the bubble and briefly take the chip-lead, though I was destined for another disappointing finish with third place returning £16.80 for my £4.40 investment.
My bust-out hand in the re-buy (see below) was a very marginal spot so I've taken a close look at the maths since. Before the blinds are posted I have 12BB on the button, the SB has 12.5BB and the BB has 5.5BB. I open jammed with my QTo, expecting that my shove to force the SB to fold everything except premiums, also knowing that my QT is ahead of the BB's range (any 2 cards) with a lot of dead chips in the middle. After running the numbers through an ICM calculator I’m pleased to see that QTo is part of my profitable shoving range, albeit at the bottom of that range. I’d have been disappointed with myself if turned out the shove was a mistake. Though he held a dominating hand technically the SB made an incorrect call, according to the numbers he needed 99+ or AJ+.
In the evening I tried my luck in the Mini Bounty Hunter but was an early casualty after some 3-way all-in on the flop shenanigans; my JJ running into another JJ and 76 on a 278 flop. To nobody’s surprise the 76 got there on the river for a treble-up, I chose not to rebuy. June poker points 37
In Response to Re: My quest to turn £51 into £1,051 on Sky Poker____ **** latest balance £436.81 **** : My head hurts! oh and title needs updating! ;-) pad p.s. can I guess another date? I had Feb 25th! ;-( Posted by Glenelg
Thanks Pad, that's been corrected. You'd be in good shape if you'd predicted Feb 25th 2013.
First up today was the 9-45am Bounty Hunter, I found myself unable to win a single hand against a calling station playing 100% of hands. Annoyances included AKs<Q5o, the guy calling down all streets with bottom pair (note to self – don’t bluff calling stations), then As6s<KJ0o on an AQ8 flop with two spades. My bust out hand was a 3-way all-in with my T8 up against QJ and 66 on a T98 flop, the station came third this time with his 66, he busted with me.
The 10-45am didn’t go any better. The only hand I played in the first 20 minutes was pocket QQ which I had to fold to a river check-raise on a bad board for my pair. 25 minutes later I busted in a standard flip with 99<AK aipf.
In a £5.75 Bounty Hunter I actually won a couple of small early pots, my first of the day, though the wheels came off when I ran my AQ into the AK of a fairly short stack on an A-high flop. A couple of orbits later I was in good shape for an 11BB to 34.5BB treble-up with my J8s all-in against AT and AT on a J-high flop but couldn’t dodge their 4 outs. Then I tried a 15 minute £2 timed tourney and busted in my first flip.
In the afternoon things improved I final-tabled two £2.30 Bounty Hunters though I suffered cruel bust outs in both. In the first my hand of doom killed my chances yet again; KK losing aipf to the A3o of an invincible maniac (who took 18 head-prizes from a field of only 55 runners). In the second during 3-handed play I 3-bet shoved AQs from the BB over a button raise and lost to A9o. By then I was pretty much pokered out and finished up the day with a couple of late HU games.
While it’s good to post a new highest balance I’m fairly disappointed it’s not more after failing to hold in those key late MTT spots yet again. Nearly five months into this quest I can’t help feeling I’ve been running pretty badly overall, I’m still awaiting my first heater. Are you reading Poker Gods? Now would be nice.
The biggest leak in my game is failing to make key holds at final tables. Two examples from today;
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalanceflash35 Small blind 500.00 500.00 20920.00 GaryQQQ Big blind 1000.00 1500.00 5805.00 Your hole cards K K CHALKY18 Fold butcther1 Raise 2000.00 3500.00 41425.00 john242 Fold flash35 Fold GaryQQQ All-in 5805.00 9305.00 0.00 butcther1 Call 4805.00 14110.00 36620.00 GaryQQQ Show K K butcther1 Show A 3 Flop J 8 A Turn Q River J butcther1 Win Two Pairs, Aces and Jacks 14110.00 50730.00
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalancedean1973 Small blind 800.00 800.00 56415.00 GaryQQQ Big blind 1600.00 2400.00 27035.00 Your hole cards Q A DrFil Raise 6400.00 8800.00 67750.00 dean1973 Fold GaryQQQ All-in 27035.00 35835.00 0.00 DrFil Call 22235.00 58070.00 45515.00 GaryQQQ Show Q A DrFil Show 9 A Flop 9 K 7 Turn 4 River J DrFil Win Pair of 9s 58070.00 103585.00
I only had time for one morning MTT; the 9-45am £3.30 Bounty Hunter. A set of nines set me off to a good start in level 1, but I lost an even bigger pot in level 3 with my AQ < A2 on an AKJr flop when my opponent spiked a 2 on the river. After taking on another short stack aipf and losing with KJs<ATo I got my last few blinds in with AT and ran into QQ.
In the afternoon I tried a couple more Bounty Hunters. When it came to the crunch in a £2.30 game I was unable to fade a flush draw for second place in chips and a head-prize approaching the bubble. Instead my stack was crippled and I went out next hand.
In a £5.75 I bumped along near the bottom of the field all the way to the late stages, doubling twice on the way with flopped steps; my 99 cracking KK and my 77 embarrassing a guy who made an ill-timed bluff with A7. Annoyingly I missed a head-prize with each set by just a few chips. The bubble lasted forever due to the presence of an away player, nobody seemed to want to get all-in with anything less than the nuts until his stack had blinded away. When the away player was down to a few big blinds he suddenly jumped back in with a premium and doubled. It’s obvious he was sitting out as a deliberate ploy, hoping to trap. This is an unwise and seedy tactic in my opinion, though not against the rules. The bubble burst a few hands later when it limped around to me on the BB and I flopped trip twos with my K2. All I needed to do was check/call flop and turn and check/shove the river by which time my opponent was pot totally committed. I'd probably have folded the K2o to a raise.
The final table was initially very difficult for five of us; we were averaging about 12BB each against a runaway chipleader with well over 40BB. The chipleader used his stack to great effect and put us all under immense pressure. Two players quickly busted, though three of us managed to double and his lead was all but gone. My double came when I 3-bet jammed my JTs from the big blind and held against his 67s.
Just when I’d pulled myself into contention I was suddenly out. I three-bet jammed over another of the (now former) chip-leader's opens with my pocket 77. He called with A9s for 80% of his stack and we went to the races. Yet again I couldn’t find that all-important final table run good; he flopped two pairs and I was out in fourth place. If that flip had gone my way I’d have become the biggest stack for the first time in the game, well ahead of the other three and in great shape to go for the win.
Once again it’s disappointing end to a final table. Perhaps more importantly I’m very happy with how I played and don’t remember making a single mistake at any stage of this tournament. Also its less painfull because I didn't go out to a bad beat this time. If the exact same situation arose with the pocket sevens in the future I wouldn’t hesitate to shove again. My 77 was clearly ahead of the openers range, I’d already seen him raise/call with 76s and 23s at final table, I'm sure he'd also have been calling with other dominated hands like A7, A6, 66 etc.
So that elusive £5.75 win still evades me. Will I go through this whole quest without one? It's beginning to look like it. Though hopefully not, it nearly came today. If I can keep playing to the best of my ability there must be a good chance it’ll come sooner or later.
On Bank Holidays I’m up at 1-30am and work on the milkround as usual, though I tend to get home a good hour earlier than normal because all the schools and businesses I would otherwise deliver to are closed. Plus at this time of year quite a lot of customers are away on holiday. My early finish today got me him home in plenty of time to enter my two favourite Bounty Hunters; the 9-45am and 10-45am £150 gtd. for £3.30 each.
Fields were bigger than usual due to the holiday and I was very pleased with the absence of bingo-style players at my tables, most of my opponents being competent regulars who, like myself, are there to enjoy a decent game of poker. In the 9-45am after a promising start and early head-prize I found myself getting short of chips with around a third of the field remaining. I’d been playing very tight for several orbits after a run of junk hole cards, so when down to only 13BB on the SB and facing a player with a tight calling range on the BB I decided I’d use my image to shove any two cards if it folded to me. I picked up a junk hand again, Q4o, but stuck to my plan and jammed it in. I’d have folded to any raise or limp. As you’d expect the BB snapped me off with his KK but I got super lucky and turned trip fours to double-up. That set me off on a mini heater; 5 hands later I 3-bet jammed AQs from the BB over a SB raise and won a flip against his TT. One orbit after that I picked up AA on the BB. An early position short stack open-shoved, then the SB re-shoved! My aces held against their 44 and KK to bust them both, in the time taken to play two orbits I'd gone from short stack to chipleader.
My big stack put me in control of the table and I could bully short stacks and chip-up quite easily until the bubble went. Heading into final table I was joint chipleader, two of us being well ahead of the other four. Meanwhile I busted the 10-45am quite close to the money; my 77<AJ aipf in a standard blind vs blind flip for a top five stack. In the 9-45 I continued to pick up cards and play well and went on to take it down. The two key final table hands were my 77 holding vs A7s aipf three-handed to give me a full double off the then chip-leader (and soon to be third place finisher). Then while heads-up I won the tournament in spectacular fashion. With my opponent getting quite short I open jammed 77 from the SB. He called with a dominated hand, K3s, but I didn’t need to sweat the turn or river after flopping quad sevens.
I'm delighted with the win after several near misses over recent days. As for the Q4o shoved into KK hand; I feel absolutely no guilt about it whatsoever. I’ve been on the receiving end of beats like that many a time, it’s just the variance evening out as far as I’m concerned. You have to make the most of it when the good luck comes your way, and thats exactly what I did today. Running well and playing well is a lethal combination.
With things needing to be done at home I decided against entering any more games today.
June poker points 96 6429839 5-Jun-12 13:18 NL Holdem £318/65-£3.306429523 5-Jun-12 12:43 NL Holdem £31/77£46.98
The lucky Q4 v KK double-up and crucial AA v KK v 44 hold 2 orbits later on the way to victory in the 9-45.
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalanceGaryQQQ Small blind 150.00 150.00 3810.00 pokaman Big blind 300.00 450.00 5910.00 Your hole cards 4 Q 147Potter Fold stoker15 Fold SKINDOH73 Fold GaryQQQ All-in 3810.00 4260.00 0.00 pokaman All-in 5910.00 10170.00 0.00 pokaman Unmatched bet 2250.00 7920.00 2250.00 GaryQQQ Show 4 Q pokaman Show K K Flop J 10 4 Turn 4 River 9 GaryQQQ Win Three 4s 7920.00 7920.00
I'm very pleased to pass the £500 mark, but I won't consider myself to be half-way until I pass £551. £510 will be another good milestone; that'll be when I've managed to increase my starting balance ten-fold.
Great going! Are these psycological barriers Gary or will you be moving up levels/trying any other games? I guess if it ain't broke, don't try & fix? Posted by Glenelg
They're nothing more than landmarks on the way, though I must say it does give me a phsycological boost when I pass a big number. £500 certainly felt good yesterday, I felt it was a good enough excuse to open a bottle of sparkling wine I had in the drinks cupboard
I'm now rolled to buy into £11 games, and that's what I plan on doing. Unfortunately very few run during my regular playing hours; the only games are the 2-00pm and 4-00pm Bounty Hunters. The 4-00pm is a bit late for me but I'll buying into the 2-00pm when my work/life/poker schedule allows.
£2.30, £3.30 and £5.75 games will probably still fill up the best part of my poker time as they run more often and at more suitable times.
There was no repeat of yesterday’s run-good in the 9-45 Bounty Hunter. I started well with an easy double-up off a maniac but it slowly went downhill after that. Twice I got my chips in good against all-in short stacks but couldn’t find a hold. After 80 minutes of play my bust out hand was AT<76s aipf.
The run-good came in the 10-45 instead. I had another promising start, this time with the sweetener of two early head prizes. Life became tougher in level 4 when the runaway chipleader moved to my table and directly to my left. I already had notes on the guy and they were quickly confirmed; he was a tricky opponent playing a high percentage of pots, very aggressive and making light calls. I tightened up my range and waited for a good spot to play a big pot against him. My double came with a combo draw (flush draw and open-ended straight draw) making a flush on the river to crack his flopped two pairs. It was nice to double, though it would have been better if I hadn’t lost a chunk of chips shortly beforehand in a flopped top pair vs flopped set hand against a different player. Within an orbit that former chipleader was out of the game after getting it in with AK on a Q-high flop and running into a player with pocket QQ.
From there I had a bit of a yoyo ride to the final table; initially falling quite short, then making a comeback while busting two other short stacks on the way. Final table play was quite tense to begin with stacks relatively short compared to the blinds and only five spots being paid. Once the bubble went play opened up. I picked my spots carefully and busted the third place finisher to get heads-up with stacks almost level.
In the early HU exchanges nearly all the pots were going my way. My opponent had played very well to that point, though she appeared to be a little inexperienced in heads-up poker and was playing a bit too weak/tight. After a while she became frustrated and switched to a shove/fold preflop game despite effective stacks still being well over 20BB (a reasonable strategy if you feel your opponent has a skill edge). The shoves grew in frequency and she edged into the lead while I waited to pick up a calling hand. It was clear she was shoving a wide range, 50%+ of all hands. Eventually I made the call when I picked up pocket 77. My pair made a crucial hold against her A2s to win me a full double and 80% of the chips in play. It was all over a few hands later when my QT held vs Q9 in another aipf pot.
So, that’s two wins in two days in the £3.30 Bounty Hunters. Happy times, nearly half-way there now.
wp Gary. Will you be playing the £11 2pm BH from now on? Posted by splashies
Thanks.
Yes, I'm fully rolled for the 2-00pm £500 gtd. now and intend to buy-in direct whenever my work/home commitments allow (see my reply to Glenelg question earlier today).
Comments
Just have a quick word with the guys at Sky; my boomswitch has been gathering dust all year, just a quick flick of the switch and it'll be a piece of cake.
Closing balance £448.55
There was a promising start to my session with a run to final table of the first MTT; a £2.30 Bounty Hunter with 74 runners. The end result was a disappointment when I lost my first big all-in flip of the game to bust in fifth place.
As seems the norm now the deck was anything but my friend when I entered a £5.75 game. A promising start took a big dent when I had the second best hand and lost 40% of my stack in a big three-way flush v flush v flopped top two pairs pot. A few orbits later I squeeze/shoved my last 19BB with TT over an all-in shortie and a caller. The caller didn’t fold his A9, a decision that makes this a big +ev spot for me obviously, unfortunately the cruel xxx99 run-out deprived me of the head-prize and a 45BB pot. After more than 60 attempts the £5.75 Bounty Hunters continue to be the Achilles Heel of this quest. For the variance to even out in these I must be due a big heater sooner or later, I’ll keep trying.
Next up was a £2 Speed Rebuy. This was good value with only 7 of the 14 remaining entrants (from 23 starters) opting to take the good-value add-on at the break, the other 7 putting themselves at a big disadvantage. The final table was surprisingly tough with no obvious soft spots, unusual at this buy-in. Maybe I was the fish? Anyway, I won a flip with 88>AT to burst the bubble and briefly take the chip-lead, though I was destined for another disappointing finish with third place returning £16.80 for my £4.40 investment.
My bust-out hand in the re-buy (see below) was a very marginal spot so I've taken a close look at the maths since. Before the blinds are posted I have 12BB on the button, the SB has 12.5BB and the BB has 5.5BB. I open jammed with my QTo, expecting that my shove to force the SB to fold everything except premiums, also knowing that my QT is ahead of the BB's range (any 2 cards) with a lot of dead chips in the middle. After running the numbers through an ICM calculator I’m pleased to see that QTo is part of my profitable shoving range, albeit at the bottom of that range. I’d have been disappointed with myself if turned out the shove was a mistake. Though he held a dominating hand technically the SB made an incorrect call, according to the numbers he needed 99+ or AJ+.
In the evening I tried my luck in the Mini Bounty Hunter but was an early casualty after some 3-way all-in on the flop shenanigans; my JJ running into another JJ and 76 on a 278 flop. To nobody’s surprise the 76 got there on the river for a treble-up, I chose not to rebuy.
June poker points 37
6417438 3-Jun-12 01:08 NL Holdem £3421/470-£3.306418138 2-Jun-12 19:19 NL Holdem £23/23£14.606417525 2-Jun-12 19:16 NL Holdem £525/53-£5.756416410 2-Jun-12 16:46 NL Holdem £25/74£5.546413906 2-Jun-12 14:46 NL Holdem £073/203£06418930 2-Jun-12 13:45 NL Holdem £21/2£1.906417866 2-Jun-12 02:21 NL Holdem £11/2£0.95
Rebuy bust-out hand with optimal push/fold ranges produced by an ICM calculator;
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalancethatsmad Small blind 1500.00 1500.00 36085.00 luschious Big blind 3000.00 4500.00 13835.00 Your hole cards 10 Q GaryQQQ All-in 36580.00 41080.00 0.00 thatsmad Call 35080.00 76160.00 1005.00 luschious Fold thatsmad Show Q K GaryQQQ Show 10 Q Flop 9 Q 4 Turn J River 4 thatsmad Win Two Pairs, Queens and 4s 76160.00 77165.00
Level: 1500.0/3000.0/0.0
Structure: 0.5/0.3/0.2
Players: 3
Runtime: 2ms [300 Iterations]
PlayerStackPush%EQPreEQPostEQDiffBU36580.028.2%0.3580.36290.00489SB37585.078.6%0.3610.3607-3.1E-4BB16835.0 0.2810.2764-0.00458
Explanation: Stack: Players stack before posting blinds.Push%: Percentage of hands a player open-pushes.EQPre: ICM equity before blinds.EQPost: ICM equity after hand.EQDiff: ICM equity change during hand.PUCAOCRangeBU 28.2%, 22+ A2s+ A3o+ K8s+ KTo+ Q9s+ QTo+ J9s+ JTo T9s SB 6.3%, 99+ AJs+ AJo+ BB0.5%, AA BB 16.9%, 33+ A3s+ A7o+ KTs+ KQo SB 78.6%, 22+ Qx+ J2s+ J4o+ T2s+ T6o+ 92s+ 96o+ 82s+ 85o+ 73s+ 75o+ 62s+ 64o+ 52s+ 54o 42s+ BB 49.3%, 22+ Kx+ Q2s+ Q5o+ J6s+ J8o+ T7s+ T9o 98s
pad
p.s. can I guess another date? I had Feb 25th! ;-(
Closing balance £450.54
First up today was the 9-45am Bounty Hunter, I found myself unable to win a single hand against a calling station playing 100% of hands. Annoyances included AKs<Q5o, the guy calling down all streets with bottom pair (note to self – don’t bluff calling stations), then As6s<KJ0o on an AQ8 flop with two spades. My bust out hand was a 3-way all-in with my T8 up against QJ and 66 on a T98 flop, the station came third this time with his 66, he busted with me.
The 10-45am didn’t go any better. The only hand I played in the first 20 minutes was pocket QQ which I had to fold to a river check-raise on a bad board for my pair. 25 minutes later I busted in a standard flip with 99<AK aipf.
In a £5.75 Bounty Hunter I actually won a couple of small early pots, my first of the day, though the wheels came off when I ran my AQ into the AK of a fairly short stack on an A-high flop. A couple of orbits later I was in good shape for an 11BB to 34.5BB treble-up with my J8s all-in against AT and AT on a J-high flop but couldn’t dodge their 4 outs. Then I tried a 15 minute £2 timed tourney and busted in my first flip.
In the afternoon things improved I final-tabled two £2.30 Bounty Hunters though I suffered cruel bust outs in both. In the first my hand of doom killed my chances yet again; KK losing aipf to the A3o of an invincible maniac (who took 18 head-prizes from a field of only 55 runners). In the second during 3-handed play I 3-bet shoved AQs from the BB over a button raise and lost to A9o. By then I was pretty much pokered out and finished up the day with a couple of late HU games.
While it’s good to post a new highest balance I’m fairly disappointed it’s not more after failing to hold in those key late MTT spots yet again. Nearly five months into this quest I can’t help feeling I’ve been running pretty badly overall, I’m still awaiting my first heater. Are you reading Poker Gods? Now would be nice.
June poker points 66
6424812 3-Jun-12 18:54 NL Holdem £11/2£0.956424749 3-Jun-12 18:46 NL Holdem £11/2£0.956421128 3-Jun-12 16:24 NL Holdem £23/80£12.146419089 3-Jun-12 16:03 PL Omaha £099/400£06420806 3-Jun-12 15:19 NL Holdem £25/55£4.256421393 3-Jun-12 14:54 NL Holdem £540/64-£5.756420652 3-Jun-12 14:38 NL Holdem £219/54-£1.556420805 3-Jun-12 13:43 NL Holdem £356/78-£3.306420512 3-Jun-12 12:49 NL Holdem £351/74-£3.306419823 3-Jun-12 12:26 NL Holdem £268/78-£2.206422959 3-Jun-12 11:33 NL Holdem £11/2£0.956422939 3-Jun-12 11:24 NL Holdem £12/2-£1.05
The biggest leak in my game is failing to make key holds at final tables. Two examples from today;
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalanceflash35 Small blind 500.00 500.00 20920.00 GaryQQQ Big blind 1000.00 1500.00 5805.00 Your hole cards K K CHALKY18 Fold butcther1 Raise 2000.00 3500.00 41425.00 john242 Fold flash35 Fold GaryQQQ All-in 5805.00 9305.00 0.00 butcther1 Call 4805.00 14110.00 36620.00 GaryQQQ Show K K butcther1 Show A 3 Flop J 8 A Turn Q River J butcther1 Win Two Pairs, Aces and Jacks 14110.00 50730.00
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalancedean1973 Small blind 800.00 800.00 56415.00 GaryQQQ Big blind 1600.00 2400.00 27035.00 Your hole cards Q A DrFil Raise 6400.00 8800.00 67750.00 dean1973 Fold GaryQQQ All-in 27035.00 35835.00 0.00 DrFil Call 22235.00 58070.00 45515.00 GaryQQQ Show Q A DrFil Show 9 A Flop 9 K 7 Turn 4 River J DrFil Win Pair of 9s 58070.00 103585.00
Closing balance £456.82
I only had time for one morning MTT; the 9-45am £3.30 Bounty Hunter. A set of nines set me off to a good start in level 1, but I lost an even bigger pot in level 3 with my AQ < A2 on an AKJr flop when my opponent spiked a 2 on the river. After taking on another short stack aipf and losing with KJs<ATo I got my last few blinds in with AT and ran into QQ.
In the afternoon I tried a couple more Bounty Hunters. When it came to the crunch in a £2.30 game I was unable to fade a flush draw for second place in chips and a head-prize approaching the bubble. Instead my stack was crippled and I went out next hand.
In a £5.75 I bumped along near the bottom of the field all the way to the late stages, doubling twice on the way with flopped steps; my 99 cracking KK and my 77 embarrassing a guy who made an ill-timed bluff with A7. Annoyingly I missed a head-prize with each set by just a few chips. The bubble lasted forever due to the presence of an away player, nobody seemed to want to get all-in with anything less than the nuts until his stack had blinded away. When the away player was down to a few big blinds he suddenly jumped back in with a premium and doubled. It’s obvious he was sitting out as a deliberate ploy, hoping to trap. This is an unwise and seedy tactic in my opinion, though not against the rules. The bubble burst a few hands later when it limped around to me on the BB and I flopped trip twos with my K2. All I needed to do was check/call flop and turn and check/shove the river by which time my opponent was pot totally committed. I'd probably have folded the K2o to a raise.
The final table was initially very difficult for five of us; we were averaging about 12BB each against a runaway chipleader with well over 40BB. The chipleader used his stack to great effect and put us all under immense pressure. Two players quickly busted, though three of us managed to double and his lead was all but gone. My double came when I 3-bet jammed my JTs from the big blind and held against his 67s.
Just when I’d pulled myself into contention I was suddenly out. I three-bet jammed over another of the (now former) chip-leader's opens with my pocket 77. He called with A9s for 80% of his stack and we went to the races. Yet again I couldn’t find that all-important final table run good; he flopped two pairs and I was out in fourth place. If that flip had gone my way I’d have become the biggest stack for the first time in the game, well ahead of the other three and in great shape to go for the win.
Once again it’s disappointing end to a final table. Perhaps more importantly I’m very happy with how I played and don’t remember making a single mistake at any stage of this tournament. Also its less painfull because I didn't go out to a bad beat this time. If the exact same situation arose with the pocket sevens in the future I wouldn’t hesitate to shove again. My 77 was clearly ahead of the openers range, I’d already seen him raise/call with 76s and 23s at final table, I'm sure he'd also have been calling with other dominated hands like A7, A6, 66 etc.
So that elusive £5.75 win still evades me. Will I go through this whole quest without one? It's beginning to look like it. Though hopefully not, it nearly came today. If I can keep playing to the best of my ability there must be a good chance it’ll come sooner or later.
June poker points 90
6426031 4-Jun-12 17:05 NL Holdem £54/57£14.486425784 4-Jun-12 16:18 NL Holdem £216/50-£2.306425142 4-Jun-12 12:06 NL Holdem £328/51-£3.306427494 4-Jun-12 11:46 NL Holdem £12/2-£1.056427408 4-Jun-12 11:35 NL Holdem £52/2-£5.256427432 4-Jun-12 11:23 NL Holdem £31/2£2.856427139 4-Jun-12 11:17 NL Holdem £21/2£1.906427439 4-Jun-12 11:07 NL Holdem £11/2£0.956427431 4-Jun-12 11:06 NL Holdem £12/2-£1.056427363 4-Jun-12 11:02 NL Holdem £12/2-£1.05
Two ill-timed bluffs that sent chips my way today. The first in a HU match. The second in the £5.75 Bounty Hunter;
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalanceGaryQQQ Small blind 25.00 25.00 950.00 Big blind 50.00 75.00 975.00 Your hole cards 9 9 GaryQQQ Raise 75.00 150.00 875.00 Call 50.00 200.00 925.00 Flop 4 7 9 Bet 100.00 300.00 825.00 GaryQQQ Raise 245.00 545.00 630.00 Call 145.00 690.00 680.00 Turn 9 All-in 680.00 1370.00 0.00 GaryQQQ All-in 630.00 2000.00 0.00 Unmatched bet 50.00 1950.00 50.00 GaryQQQ Show 9 9 Show J 7 River 5 GaryQQQ Win Four 9s 1950.00 1950.00
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalancerichie0710 Small blind 40.00 40.00 10546.25 murphy777 Big blind 80.00 120.00 4950.00 Your hole cards 7 7 scone1962 Fold Call 80.00 200.00 2682.50 GaryQQQ Call 80.00 280.00 2197.50 richie0710 Call 40.00 320.00 10506.25 murphy777 Check Flop 6 7 Q richie0710 Check murphy777 Check All-in 2682.50 3002.50 0.00 GaryQQQ All-in 2197.50 5200.00 0.00 richie0710 Fold murphy777 Fold Unmatched bet 485.00 4715.00 485.00 Show A 7 GaryQQQ Show 7 7 Turn 6 River 3 GaryQQQ Win Full House, 7s and 6s 4715.00 4715.00
Closing balance £500.50
On Bank Holidays I’m up at 1-30am and work on the milkround as usual, though I tend to get home a good hour earlier than normal because all the schools and businesses I would otherwise deliver to are closed. Plus at this time of year quite a lot of customers are away on holiday. My early finish today got me him home in plenty of time to enter my two favourite Bounty Hunters; the 9-45am and 10-45am £150 gtd. for £3.30 each.
Fields were bigger than usual due to the holiday and I was very pleased with the absence of bingo-style players at my tables, most of my opponents being competent regulars who, like myself, are there to enjoy a decent game of poker. In the 9-45am after a promising start and early head-prize I found myself getting short of chips with around a third of the field remaining. I’d been playing very tight for several orbits after a run of junk hole cards, so when down to only 13BB on the SB and facing a player with a tight calling range on the BB I decided I’d use my image to shove any two cards if it folded to me. I picked up a junk hand again, Q4o, but stuck to my plan and jammed it in. I’d have folded to any raise or limp. As you’d expect the BB snapped me off with his KK but I got super lucky and turned trip fours to double-up. That set me off on a mini heater; 5 hands later I 3-bet jammed AQs from the BB over a SB raise and won a flip against his TT. One orbit after that I picked up AA on the BB. An early position short stack open-shoved, then the SB re-shoved! My aces held against their 44 and KK to bust them both, in the time taken to play two orbits I'd gone from short stack to chipleader.
My big stack put me in control of the table and I could bully short stacks and chip-up quite easily until the bubble went. Heading into final table I was joint chipleader, two of us being well ahead of the other four. Meanwhile I busted the 10-45am quite close to the money; my 77<AJ aipf in a standard blind vs blind flip for a top five stack. In the 9-45 I continued to pick up cards and play well and went on to take it down. The two key final table hands were my 77 holding vs A7s aipf three-handed to give me a full double off the then chip-leader (and soon to be third place finisher). Then while heads-up I won the tournament in spectacular fashion. With my opponent getting quite short I open jammed 77 from the SB. He called with a dominated hand, K3s, but I didn’t need to sweat the turn or river after flopping quad sevens.
I'm delighted with the win after several near misses over recent days. As for the Q4o shoved into KK hand; I feel absolutely no guilt about it whatsoever. I’ve been on the receiving end of beats like that many a time, it’s just the variance evening out as far as I’m concerned. You have to make the most of it when the good luck comes your way, and thats exactly what I did today. Running well and playing well is a lethal combination.
With things needing to be done at home I decided against entering any more games today.
June poker points 96
6429839 5-Jun-12 13:18 NL Holdem £318/65-£3.306429523 5-Jun-12 12:43 NL Holdem £31/77£46.98
The lucky Q4 v KK double-up and crucial AA v KK v 44 hold 2 orbits later on the way to victory in the 9-45.
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalanceGaryQQQ Small blind 150.00 150.00 3810.00 pokaman Big blind 300.00 450.00 5910.00 Your hole cards 4 Q 147Potter Fold stoker15 Fold SKINDOH73 Fold GaryQQQ All-in 3810.00 4260.00 0.00 pokaman All-in 5910.00 10170.00 0.00 pokaman Unmatched bet 2250.00 7920.00 2250.00 GaryQQQ Show 4 Q pokaman Show K K Flop J 10 4 Turn 4 River 9 GaryQQQ Win Three 4s 7920.00 7920.00
in the home straight...lol
:-)
dev
I'm very pleased to pass the £500 mark, but I won't consider myself to be half-way until I pass £551. £510 will be another good milestone; that'll be when I've managed to increase my starting balance ten-fold.
Great going! Are these psycological barriers Gary or will you be moving up levels/trying any other games? I guess if it ain't broke, don't try & fix?
I'm now rolled to buy into £11 games, and that's what I plan on doing. Unfortunately very few run during my regular playing hours; the only games are the 2-00pm and 4-00pm Bounty Hunters. The 4-00pm is a bit late for me but I'll buying into the 2-00pm when my work/life/poker schedule allows.
£2.30, £3.30 and £5.75 games will probably still fill up the best part of my poker time as they run more often and at more suitable times.
Closing balance £545.63
There was no repeat of yesterday’s run-good in the 9-45 Bounty Hunter. I started well with an easy double-up off a maniac but it slowly went downhill after that. Twice I got my chips in good against all-in short stacks but couldn’t find a hold. After 80 minutes of play my bust out hand was AT<76s aipf.
The run-good came in the 10-45 instead. I had another promising start, this time with the sweetener of two early head prizes. Life became tougher in level 4 when the runaway chipleader moved to my table and directly to my left. I already had notes on the guy and they were quickly confirmed; he was a tricky opponent playing a high percentage of pots, very aggressive and making light calls. I tightened up my range and waited for a good spot to play a big pot against him. My double came with a combo draw (flush draw and open-ended straight draw) making a flush on the river to crack his flopped two pairs. It was nice to double, though it would have been better if I hadn’t lost a chunk of chips shortly beforehand in a flopped top pair vs flopped set hand against a different player. Within an orbit that former chipleader was out of the game after getting it in with AK on a Q-high flop and running into a player with pocket QQ.
From there I had a bit of a yoyo ride to the final table; initially falling quite short, then making a comeback while busting two other short stacks on the way. Final table play was quite tense to begin with stacks relatively short compared to the blinds and only five spots being paid. Once the bubble went play opened up. I picked my spots carefully and busted the third place finisher to get heads-up with stacks almost level.
In the early HU exchanges nearly all the pots were going my way. My opponent had played very well to that point, though she appeared to be a little inexperienced in heads-up poker and was playing a bit too weak/tight. After a while she became frustrated and switched to a shove/fold preflop game despite effective stacks still being well over 20BB (a reasonable strategy if you feel your opponent has a skill edge). The shoves grew in frequency and she edged into the lead while I waited to pick up a calling hand. It was clear she was shoving a wide range, 50%+ of all hands. Eventually I made the call when I picked up pocket 77. My pair made a crucial hold against her A2s to win me a full double and 80% of the chips in play. It was all over a few hands later when my QT held vs Q9 in another aipf pot.
So, that’s two wins in two days in the £3.30 Bounty Hunters. Happy times, nearly half-way there now.
June poker points 102
6434397 6-Jun-12 13:30 NL Holdem £31/39£48.436434021 6-Jun-12 12:39 NL Holdem £320/48-£3.30
Sickest cooler of the day, quads over quads;
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalanceGreb Small blind 40.00 40.00 3531.66 GaryQQQ Big blind 80.00 120.00 3927.50 Your hole cards 9 10 Dave1703 Call 80.00 200.00 10585.00 sainthelen Call 80.00 280.00 786.67 Jeneral Call 80.00 360.00 4449.17 Greb Fold GaryQQQ Check Flop 5 3 3 GaryQQQ Check Dave1703 Check sainthelen Check Jeneral Check Turn J GaryQQQ Check Dave1703 Check sainthelen Bet 80.00 440.00 706.67 Jeneral Call 80.00 520.00 4369.17 GaryQQQ Fold Dave1703 Fold River 5 sainthelen Bet 160.00 680.00 546.67 Jeneral Raise 400.00 1080.00 3969.17 sainthelen All-in 546.67 1626.67 0.00 Jeneral Call 306.67 1933.34 3662.50 sainthelen Show 5 5 Jeneral Show 3 3 sainthelen Win Four 5s 1933.34 1933.34
Yes, I'm fully rolled for the 2-00pm £500 gtd. now and intend to buy-in direct whenever my work/home commitments allow (see my reply to Glenelg question earlier today).