After a four day hiatus I returned to my favourite form of poker; MTTs. Unfortunately the deck wasn’t in the mood to give me a warm welcome back. My ‘hand of doom’, pocket KK, returned to haunt me again, becomingmy exit hand my first two games, the 9-45 and 10-45 Bounty Hunters, losing to 66 and A9o respectively.
Things didn’t go any better in HU matches, I lost every all-in pot, including failing to dodge a one-outer when my A7 went all-in against 77 on an ace-high flop.
The gloom continued in my third MTT, a £5.75 Bounty Hunter, my exit coming when my made hand failed to fade a flush draw with one card to come and all the chips in the middle.
After two and a half hours of play I quit my session to minimise losses having barely won a hand. The final straw was the hand below; it came in a £5.25 HU match. Enough was enough, I knew it wasn't going to be my day and threw in the towel.
Crikey gary, slow down. Got you pencilled in for december! Not been on for a while due to the missus giving birth but just checking in to see how everything is going. Well done though. Its no mean feat under any timescale. Posted by DrSharp
Today was an action replay of yesterday. I ran like Usain Bolt....................if he were blindfolded, had his shoes-laces tied together and was attached to a 2-ton ball and chain. Since returning from my four day break I seem to have been totally doomswitched.
There was actually a promising start in my first game, the 9-45 Bounty Hunter. I found myself second in chips after an hour of play. However any hopes that my luck had turned were soon dashed, I was busted by the chipleader with QQ<99 aipf for a monster pot. To rub salt in the wound it was also the cruellest of run-outs; he flopped a set, I turned a flush, he rivered quads!
Things didn’t improve. In the 10-45 Bounty Hunter I couldn’t win a single hand and my stack slowly dwindled away, my exit coming the first time I got my chips when short. Then in the 11-30 Bounty Hunter I busted in the very first hand; I flopped top set with pocket TT, unsurprisingly it was no good, I ended-up losing to a straight.
By now I could feel myself starting to tilt, but decided to have one last try in a £3.30 speed rebuy with a £50 guarantee.It attracted only 7 runners with 2 to be paid. I kept my cool and played well, but once again I was destined to go out to a sickening beat. This time it came on the bubble when I couldn’t dodge a 2-outer with 2 cards to come (HH blow). That was enough, I was no longer in the correct frame of mind to continue playing and quit for the day, a full five hours earlier than intended.
hi Gary, chin up m8 you are still well on your way to that magical £1,051 target of yours. looks as though we could both do with a little boost atm. keep doing the right things and i'm sure your next big win will not be too far away. best wishes m8. dev
hi Gary, chin up m8 you are still well on your way to that magical £1,051 target of yours. looks as though we could both do with a little boost atm. keep doing the right things and i'm sure your next big win will not be too far away. best wishes m8. dev Posted by devonfish5
Cheers Dev.
This poker is a funny 'ole game; the luck seems to be change like tides; it all goes one way for a long time, then suddenly turns and starts to go the other way. It would appear the tide has been going out for both of us over the last few days. all we can do is be patient and keep our cool, it'll be coming in again soon and that's when we'll reap the rewards. Best of luck to you too.
In Response to Re: My quest to turn £51 into £1,051 on Sky Poker____ **** latest balance £723.61 **** : Cheers Dev. This poker is a funny 'ole game; the luck seems to be change like tides; it all goes one way for a long time, then suddenly turns and starts to go the other way. It would appear the tide has been going out for both of us over the last few days. all we can do is be patient and keep our cool, it'll be coming in again soon and that's when we'll reap the rewards. Best of luck to you too. Posted by GaryQQQ
hi m8 ty all the best things are worth wating for..... isn't that what they say. it's all about patience & discipline as you already know,like you say the tide will turn our way again. best wishes m8. dev
Carried straight on from where I left off yesterday; the very first pot I entered in the 9-45 BH cost me half my stack when my pocket JJ was outdrawn by a player holding the mighty 53s. My OOP opponent called my 4x raise over his limp. Despite completely missing the flop completely he decided to call my continuation bets anyway. I can only assume he’s psychic; somehow he managed to make a running flush by the river. I fought my way back to average, but lost a big AQ<33 flip, soon after going out with KQs<AJo aipf.
Things started better in the 10-45; when down to only 25 of the 78 entrants left I was in third place and in a good position to launch a deep run. However a series of three all-in pre-flop pots in a 2 orbit spell (two pair v overcard flips and a 60/40 against a 10BB limp/caller with 98o) all went against me, each time with a bounty up for grabs. I then went out in 17th place when my shove was called by a gambler who got there against my overcards with his T4o. I tried a £2.30 game next and made a fairly early exit with my AJ no good vs A7 on an ace-high flop.
After a break for lunch I had another storming start in the 2-30pm £5.75 Bounty Hunter; up to 3x starting stack within 3 levels (though without any bounties). Then the next horror beat arrived to cost me a head prize and a significant chiplead. I picked up pocket AA on the SB when a player with 19BB open-shoved from UTG. I flatted and successfully induced the BB into entering the pot too. The BB folded to my flop bet, but I was drawing almost dead to the UTG shover; he’d flopped a miracle nut-flush with his A3s and scooped the 58BB pot.
For a while I spiralled downwards, assuming I was destined to draw another blank. However, just for little while, and for the first time in a week, the deck was kind to me. I didn’t win any pots from behind, but coolered an opponent with K7 v A9 on a 77A flop and managed a couple of crucial holds with QQ>A2 aipf and A7>76 aipf to climb back towards the top of the field and safely negotiate the bubble, taking two head prizes on the way.
To cut a long story short I was clear chipleader at the final table with only four players left, but a player leading a very charmed life was destined to bust me in fourth. Firstly he was on the big blind when I 3-bet shoved AKs from the button, he called off his stack with KJ and binked a J on the turn to double-up. A hold there would have given me over 50% of the chips in play with 3 players left. 2 orbits later I open-jammed from the button with pocket 99 and 15BB behind, the same player woke up with KK, no miracle card for me and I was out. Earlier this guy had folded down to less than 2BB with 5 players left.
While it was nice to record my first MTT cash for a week and record a winning day, overall I’m very disappointed. I feel I was the best player at that £5.75 final table, yet was deprived of a likely victory by the cruel AKs<KJo aipf suck-out. It doesn’t seem to matter what I do in these £5.75s, I’m unable to win under any circumstances. The latest count during this quest is played 125, final tables 29, wins 0. With the wins being worth about £100 a time this quest would have been completeted before now if I'd run to expectation and taken down 5 of those 29 final tables.
Did I run better today? Absolutely not; I didn’t win a single MTT pot today when getting my chips in as an underdog. I lost several from well ahead including AA<A3s aipf and the horrible AKs<KJ aipf hand at the final table.
My first MTT of the day, the 10-45 BH, brought a pleasing run to the final table. It included a suckout (extremely rare for me lately) with my AJ busting a short-stack who open-shoved pocket KK in the mid-stages. Unfortunately I was unable to take it down; my exit came in third place when I shoved pocket 33 from the button and lost out to a caller with K8s. With all stacks very shallow after 3 hours of play, mine the shortest of the three, it was a spot where the chips just had to go in. Note to self; must learn to flip better at final tables. It went badly downhill after that; nearly the entire afternoon was very tilting. I entered the 2-30 £5.75 Bounty Hunter, but spent my time in the game completely card-dead. Particularly frustrating was a series of HU matches I entered with the intention of boosting my poker points; I ran just about as badly as is possible losing just about every aipf pot due to a series of comedy run-outs and miracle river cards in my opponents favour. I even managed to lose 6 out of 8 roulette games (see final paragraph).
In a 30 minute timed tournament I was eliminated after 29 minutes of play by an opponent who made an awful call only to hit his gutshot to crack my two pairs on the river, the pot was worth £17.40. It reminded me just how much I hate these timed games, you won’t see me in one again for a very long time, I stand almost no chance in any sort of run-good competition at the moment.
My final game saved the afternoon from being a complete disaster when I made a run to the final table of the 3-30 £5.75 Bounty Hunter. I was in good shape through most of the game, but a couple of harsh beats in crucial spots made big dents to my stack and cost me bounties. The most annoying came on the final table bubble when my QJs lost to K4 after all the chips went in on a Q42 rainbow flop. The 4 on the turn cost me the biggest head-prize in the field at that time, a juicy pot, a 50% boost to my stack and a great chance of victory. I then fell quite short during 6-handed play, but was gifted a double-up by a slow-playing limper with JJ who doubled me up. I held 72o on the big-blind, the flop came down 72T. Unfortunately that was the last pot I won, down to 9BB during 4-handed play I jammed A8 into A9, I flopped an 8 only to lose to a running straight.
That’s now 30 £5.75 Bounty Hunter final table appearances during this quest without a single win, quite incredible. Once again I didn’t win a single pot in the entire tournament after getting my chips in as an underdog, though I lost 2 after getting my chips in post-flop with a dominating hand. Will it ever turn the other way? If does maybe I’ll get one of those very overdue first places.
To make ensure I reach the 500 poker point threshold to qualify for a C4P payment I mixed in a few roulette HU games today. Normally I wouldn’t dream of playing RR, but this was one of those rare occasions when it becomes a +ev decision. Each £2.00 game earns 3 poker points for 20p rake, i.e. 6.67p per point. My 8 games cost me £1.60 in rake for 24 points, thereby ensuring a £5.00 C4P payment. Unfortunately, while this was a mathematically correct decision, it didn’t work out too well; I lost 6 of the 8 games. No surprise there then.
Late in the afternoon I had a very welcome surprise; I was informed I've been awarded a seat in the new 'Top of the Posts' competition. I'm honoured to be chosen and very much looking forward to the game. It's being played a couple of hours after my usual bedtime, my body-clock won't be amused but I'll do my best!
Déjà vu struck I lost my first 2 HU matches of the day with 77<A7 aipf and JJ<K7 aipf.
In my first MTT I went out holding 9x with 5678r on the board, my opponent held 9T. It was a £3 speed rebuy, by then I already had the feeling it wasn’t going to be my game so didn’t bother to buy back in.
Things looked much more promising in my second MTT, a £2 rebuy. I found myself chipleader on the bubble (3 left, 2 paid) courtesy of a couple of flopped sets that got paid in full. However sod’s law kicked in again. I took on the shortest stack with my AJs vs his KT aipf, he won and I slipped down to third of three. My stack dwindled further, when down to 12BB I went into ‘double or bust asap’ mode and managed to shove my A8 from the button into A9 on the SB.
But hold on……………shock/horror………. I sucked out! One finally went my way! I binked an 8 on the flop to double-up. I feel no guilt whatsoever, I’m owed many of these. Furthermore it was against the KT>AJs guy. Soon after that I won another big pot with TT>AQ to double again and take a commanding lead (27K v 5K v 4K). The chips went in on the turn, my opponent calling off with a queen-high flush draw and overcards to a low board. Phew; I dodged his outs.
I pushed on from there to take the win, my prize being £37.50 with £4.40 invested, enough to bring me a new highest balance. While this is only small bink it was very welcome after a hellish run of luck over the last few days. Hopefully I’ve turned a corner, though I’m still left wondering why haven’t I been able to do this in any of my 30x £5.75 Bounty Hunter final tables.
I didn’t want to play any more poker, but bought into a £1 hyper HU match and 4x £2.20 roulette games (won 2, lost 2) to earn me the last 13 poker points required to reach the all-important 500 point threshold and lock-up a £5.00 C4P bonus.
My turn to suck-out, the beautiful 8 that led to a victory;
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalancepaulsmoney Small blind 300.00 300.00 17120.00 MRPAULZ1 Big blind 600.00 900.00 11700.00 Your hole cards A 8 GaryQQQ All-in 7280.00 8180.00 0.00 paulsmoney Call 6980.00 15160.00 10140.00 MRPAULZ1 Fold paulsmoney Show 9 A GaryQQQ Show A 8 Flop 8 K 2 Turn J River 10 GaryQQQ Win Pair of 8s 15160.00 15160.00
well done Gary on reaching your new highest b/roll. told you that you just had to be patient. keep it going m8.... i could be buying you that pint after all. lol
This afternoon I entered a series of low stakes MTTs. I managed two minor second place finishes, though results were disappointing overall.
The first runner-up spot came in the £50 gtd £2 rebuy (I won the same tournament yesterday). I played my best, but was condemned by a HU cooler; my opponent flopped a well hidden straight with 95o in his hand and 678 on the board. Stacks were too shallow for me to get away, my T8s was drawing to only 3 outs or a running flush and I didn’t get there. My prize of £15 was nothing to write home about with £6.60 invested.
As is typical at the weekend the £2.30 Bounty Hunters were bingo central today. I played three, had chances to win two, but as has been usual over the last week I couldn’t win those crucial late-stages hands.
In the first £2.30 I busted very early with 44<32o (with pocket 66 also all-in) for a 300BB pot, all the chips going in with 345J on the board, the 32o guy hit one of his six outs to win the monster pot with just one card to come. You see it all in these games.
I came very close to winning the second £2.30, only to get busted by a gross beat in the tournament deciding hand (see below). In the third £2.30 I only managed a min-cash, my As8s failing to improve on a flop of 5c6s2s against K2o. The hand was essentially a flip; any A, 8 or spade wins it for me. I had 52% equity when the chips went in, so no regrets at all.
After a break I returned to play in the evening Mini Bounty Hunter. I lasted 5 hands. With KJs on the SB I check-raised to 300 on a 45J rainbow flop, a player with 56 decided his hand was good enough to come along for the ride, I'm sure you can guess the rest. To be honest I was quite happy to bust early and didn’t bother re-entering. My daily 1-30am starts do not mix well with evening poker; I was feeling too tired to concentrate and probably shouldn’t have entered this tournament in the first place.
What more can I do? A bingo player makes one of the worst calls I’ve ever seen to defeat me heads-up and win a Bounty Hunter tournament. He had 8% equity in the hand when the chips went in.
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalanceGaryQQQ Small blind 500.00 500.00 26540.00 Big blind 1000.00 1500.00 29960.00 Your hole cards K A GaryQQQ Raise 1500.00 3000.00 25040.00 Call 1000.00 4000.00 28960.00 Flop 9 2 K Check GaryQQQ Bet 2000.00 6000.00 23040.00 Call 2000.00 8000.00 26960.00 Turn 4 Check GaryQQQ All-in 23040.00 31040.00 0.00 All-in 26960.00 58000.00 0.00 Unmatched bet 3920.00 54080.00 3920.00 GaryQQQ Show K A Show 4 5 River 5 Win Two Pairs, 5s and 4s 54080.00 58000.00
hi Gary, good to see you moving forwards again m8. yes it's unbelievable/laughable how light some people will call you down isn't it? i think the thing is they actually win with these hands so i guess they must think it's good play. anyway,that aside ,well done m8,keep it going dev
Due to family commitments I didn’t have much time for poker today. In the afternoon I played a few micro games, roughly breaking even.
Highlight of the day poker-wise was participating in the inaugural ‘Top of the Posts’ STT. The 9-00pm start was awkward for me, but I feel honoured to have been chosen so I made an exception and stayed up late for the game (and let’s face it, who’d skip a freeroll with a guaranteed prize of £10+?).
It was a fun fast-structured game, played in good spirit with a friendly rail. The hand that determined my finishing position came when I open-shoved KJs from the button during 3-handed play when all stacks were shallow. The big-blind made the call with 76o, this was the first all-in and call hand I’d been involved in, a hold would have seen me go heads-up for the £50 first prize; the flop came down 589 lol. Still, I’m pretty used to that sort of thing nowadays, it’s the nature of the game, I’m very grateful to receive £25 in a freeroll and breach the £800 barrier to record a new highest balance.
hi Gary, well done on getting into the £800 m8. looks as though i've got some serious catching up to do when i get back playing again,tomorrow. keep it going buddy,not that far to go now. dev
A busy day left very little time for poker, yet it was long enough for me to give a fine demonstration of what I do best; get my chips in good only see comedy run-outs sn_atch defeat from the jaws of victory.
My first HU game set the tone when my ATs was no good against A6s aipf for all the chips.
Fun run-outs in my first Bounty Hunter included A6<KJ with A2K6 on the board, my JJ doubling an opponent holding 23o on a 963 flop, then a bust with A8<KQ aipf (I made top pair on a safe looking flop, turn T, river J).
My second Bounty Game (£5.75) started in promising fashion with a level 1 double and head-prize. I was going well and enjoying the game until level 5 when an uber- crazy bingo maniac joined my table. I thought I had him ‘hook line and sinker’ when my QJ saw a QJ5 flop and he bet/called shove with K5. The pot was 10.9K with blinds at 100/50, average stack 4K. Considering many similar experiences over the last week or so it was absolutely no surprise to me when he hit another 5 on the river to bust me.
That was enough, I was too disgusted to continue playing. It’s incredible how badly I’m running in all-in situations at the moment, I find it truly bewildering how I continue to get outdrawn again, and again, and again.
Once again an opponents atrocious call busts me from an MTT. This player went on to win the tournament with 14 head-prizes and bank over £100;
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalanceshakeitup Small blind 40.00 40.00 480.00 p Big blind 80.00 120.00 6786.25 Your hole cards J Q anwario12 Fold emma03 Fold GaryQQQ Call 80.00 200.00 5355.00 shakeitup Fold p Raise 240.00 440.00 6546.25 GaryQQQ Call 240.00 680.00 5115.00 Flop Q J 5 p Bet 510.00 1190.00 6036.25 GaryQQQ All-in 5115.00 6305.00 0.00 p Call 4605.00 10910.00 1431.25 p Show 5 K GaryQQQ Show J Q Turn 3 River 5 p Win Three 5s 10910.00 12341.25
Any hopes that a new day might see my luck reset were quickly dashed when I bought into a couple of quick HU matches before leaving for work. I lost both due to a series of bad-beats. In the second game my opponent came back from having his last 60 chips all-in and behind with only one card to come. He then won a series of aipf pots including his 73o beating my pocket KK. Poker was a dirty word as I went out of the door.
By the time I returned home I’d cooled down and bought into the 11-30am Bounty Hunter. I enjoyed a flying start with my AKs>AKo for an early double followed by my pocket 99 flopping a set to crack KK and earn me a head-prize. Unfortunately it was short-lived, a series of coolers and a few bad decisions by me cost me my stack over the next few levels.
Ridiculous run-outs came back to haunt me again in a £3.30 Scary MTT; my exit came when I jammed over a limper with KQ, he called with QT. It looked promising when I flopped a king, however the two clubs dealt on the turn and river gave my opponent the dreaded runner-runner flush and I was out.
The second £5.75 BH ended with my AQ<AK aipf, SB v button, 20BB effective stacks. I’d seen the same guy call a deeper 3-bet shove earlier in the game with A3s, so I I’m happy with my play.
In a £2.30 Bounty Hunter I was going great in 3rd/6 at the final table when the next cruel beat wrecked my chances. I opened pocket 55, found 3 callers and flopped my set. Two of the callers folded to my c-bet, the other came along for the ride. He decided to donk-shove into me on the turn holding two overcards to the board and a nut-flush draw. Fading flush draws isn’t something I do very well at the moment; he managed to hit one of his 8 live flush outs on the river. A hold would have given me his head and a substantial chiplead, as it was I was left with 10BB. Three hands later I open-shoved AK and lost the race against TT to bust in sixth.
My third £5.75 started badly when a level 3 AK<TT aipf flip put me in deep trouble. However I managed to fight my way back, starting with a crucial JJ<ATs aipf hold for my tournament life. From there my stack grew steadily and I took 3 head-prizes in the mid-stages, one of them very fortunately when I KO’d a shortie with my K5>AK aipf blind vs blind.
As the bubble approached I found myself at a tricky table facing some skilled opponents, all of us holding at least 50% more chips than the tournament average. Fortunately just as my stack was beginning to dwindle due to a drought of cards a key race went my way; my 66>AK aipf to take my fourth bounty and put me back in contention. On the final table bubble I was back in trouble; I jammed KQs from the SB over a serial limper on the button, he called with ace-rag and I failed to improve. That left me 7th/7 and sitting on only 6.5BB. I made it to final table due to another player busting before me, then a double with AQ>66 pulled me back from the brink and gave me hope.
After the double with pocket 66 a series of uncalled shoves and a pot won with T4o when an opponent kindly limped into my big blind brought me back into contention. A further boost came when I busted the sixth place finisher who’d just lost a race and shoved his last 3BB into my big blind, one of those easy ‘call with any two cards’ spots with nobody else in the pot. I then busted the fifth place finisher in similar fashion. After 150 minutes of play I was 2nd/4, though a fair way behind the chipleader. Unfortunately I then went out to a harsh cooler; I jammed AK over the ace-rag serial limper mentioned earlier. He folded, but unfortunately the chipleader on the big-blind was sitting on AA. It was very cruel timing for me, AK is always going-in there, it is very difficult indeed to run AK into AA at any 4-handed table.
So my count of £5.75 BH final tables during this quest has now reached 31 and I’m still waiting for the first win. Trying to look on the bright side; at least this game saved my day and edged me up to a new highest balance. Also I won a few big races to get to that final table, something that hasn’t happened much lately.
I feel I’m still running a long way to the wrong side of variance, I have been since my recent 4 day break. However, I must remind myself that long term results count far more than those over the short term. I’m around £770 in profit so far over the course of this quest, possibly something the majority of recreational players could only dream of, so really I have nothing to complain about at all. A lot of my opponents have made bad plays over the last few days and got very lucky on the run-out. I wish them the best, all I can do is stay happy knowing that as long as I continue to play well I’m certain to beat these guys in the long run.
No joy for me in MTTs today, won a little back in HU games.
First game was the 9-45 BH. After a promising start a cooler against the only other big stack at my table led to an early exit. I re-raised over an all-in short-stack with AK, the villain in the hand flat called my raise with pocket 88; the K83r rainbow flop condemned me. The pot in the middle was worth the chiplead and a head-prize, I was unable to find a fold.
In the 10-45 BH I found myself seated at a wild bingo-style table. Early gambling led to several eliminations and left two very loose players with very big stacks. They were both involved in every pot and didn’t like folding, however I didn’t pick up strong enough hole-cards or connect with any flops well enough to profit from their style of play. I kept my head above water for 75 minutes but busted the first time I was all-in and called, my AQs losing to JJ aipf.
A £2.30 BH ended with another cooler; my 5 running into 9T with 4678r on the board. I then tried my luck in a £3 freezeout but couldn’t get anything going, I went out in 19th/48 when losing a flip with K8<77 aipf.
In my second £2.30 BH I went out in comedy fashion with KK<TT aipf. I turned a set, my opponent rivered a straight lol. ‘The hand of doom’ strikes again.
There was more hilarity in the third £2.30; I was going great until I watched my AJ get donked by QJ following an AA2 flop (turn K, river T). That left me short and looking to double or bust. With the player on the big-blind sitting out I opted to open-jam J9s from the button with 19BB behind. The same player who’d donked me with the QJ made a loose call with 89o. It’s a call I want, but it didn’t work out today; he binked an 8 on the turn to bust me.
A £1 rebuy was next. With ten minutes of the re-buy period to go I was in the top 3 from over 50 starters with more than double the tournament average, then my stack was quickly decimated by a terrible run of cards. Firstly the curse of pocket KK struck again; I managed to get it all-in against TJ on a T73 flop for a 150BB pot, a ten hit on the river of course. A few hands later I failed to dodge a gutshot chaser with KT who got there on the river to beat my KQ on a 3QA flop. Then my set of 8s lost to QJ that rivered a straight. My big stack was gone and I was beginning to wonder if I was unknowingly appearing on an episode of ‘You’ve been Rivered’. I tried a final roll of the dice with a double re-buy and add-on. It was to no avail, my exit eventually coming with AQ<KK aipf, button vs SB.
Between tournaments I played a few HU matches and a 15-minute timed game, I finished a little ahead from these to offset some of the MTT loses.
The deck was very unkind to me in MTTs today, despite that can honestly say I enjoyed the games and was laughing out loud through the comical beats. I know I played well, that’s far more important than the results as far as I’m concerned.
‘The hand of Doom’ strikes again. I picked up pocket KK twice today (not for the squeamish); PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalancePapahaveit Sit out h Small blind 15.00 15.00 1460.00 Steady93 Big blind 30.00 45.00 5570.00 Your hole cards K K bowlsrus20 Fold GaryQQQ Raise 90.00 135.00 1260.00 GADGETBOY1 Fold h All-in 1460.00 1595.00 0.00 Steady93 Fold GaryQQQ All-in 1260.00 2855.00 0.00 h Unmatched bet 125.00 2730.00 125.00 h Show 10 10 GaryQQQ Show K K Flop Q 9 A Turn K River J h Win Straight to the Ace 2730.00 2855.00
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalancebSmall blind 40.00 40.00 3660.00 jhotone Big blind 80.00 120.00 3220.00 Your hole cards K K eddlaney1 Fold GaryQQQ Raise 240.00 360.00 9500.00 foxy666603 Fold scojabar Fold b Call 200.00 560.00 3460.00 jhotone Fold Flop 10 3 7 b Bet 560.00 1120.00 2900.00 GaryQQQ All-in 9500.00 10620.00 0.00 bAll-in 2900.00 13520.00 0.00 GaryQQQ Unmatched bet 6040.00 7480.00 6040.00 bShow 10 J GaryQQQ Show K K Turn 5 River 10 bWin Three 10s 7480.00 7480.00
Comments
Closing balance £737.18
(down £23.82 today)
After a four day hiatus I returned to my favourite form of poker; MTTs. Unfortunately the deck wasn’t in the mood to give me a warm welcome back. My ‘hand of doom’, pocket KK, returned to haunt me again, becoming my exit hand my first two games, the 9-45 and 10-45 Bounty Hunters, losing to 66 and A9o respectively.
Things didn’t go any better in HU matches, I lost every all-in pot, including failing to dodge a one-outer when my A7 went all-in against 77 on an ace-high flop.
The gloom continued in my third MTT, a £5.75 Bounty Hunter, my exit coming when my made hand failed to fade a flush draw with one card to come and all the chips in the middle.
After two and a half hours of play I quit my session to minimise losses having barely won a hand. The final straw was the hand below; it came in a £5.25 HU match. Enough was enough, I knew it wasn't going to be my day and threw in the towel.
August poker points 371
6794402 27-Aug-12 14:30 NL Holdem £558/77-£5.756794785 27-Aug-12 13:54 NL Holdem £376/101-£3.306794484 27-Aug-12 12:25 NL Holdem £344/103-£2.176797085 27-Aug-12 12:12 NL Holdem £52/2-£5.256796954 27-Aug-12 11:34 NL Holdem £52/2-£5.256796914 27-Aug-12 11:27 NL Holdem £12/2-£1.056796893 27-Aug-12 11:01 NL Holdem £12/2-£1.05
The final straw. Another £5.25 bites the dust;
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalance Small blind 25.00 25.00 574.00 GaryQQQ Big blind 50.00 75.00 351.00 Your hole cards 7 6 Call 25.00 100.00 549.00 GaryQQQ Check Flop 9 10 8 GaryQQQ Check Bet 100.00 200.00 449.00 GaryQQQ All-in 351.00 551.00 0.00 Call 251.00 802.00 198.00 Show 8 A GaryQQQ Show 7 6 Turn 2 River 4 Win Flush to the Ace 802.00 1000.00
Closing balance £723.61
(down £13.57 today)
Today was an action replay of yesterday. I ran like Usain Bolt....................if he were blindfolded, had his shoes-laces tied together and was attached to a 2-ton ball and chain. Since returning from my four day break I seem to have been totally doomswitched.
There was actually a promising start in my first game, the 9-45 Bounty Hunter. I found myself second in chips after an hour of play. However any hopes that my luck had turned were soon dashed, I was busted by the chipleader with QQ<99 aipf for a monster pot. To rub salt in the wound it was also the cruellest of run-outs; he flopped a set, I turned a flush, he rivered quads!
Things didn’t improve. In the 10-45 Bounty Hunter I couldn’t win a single hand and my stack slowly dwindled away, my exit coming the first time I got my chips when short. Then in the 11-30 Bounty Hunter I busted in the very first hand; I flopped top set with pocket TT, unsurprisingly it was no good, I ended-up losing to a straight.
By now I could feel myself starting to tilt, but decided to have one last try in a £3.30 speed rebuy with a £50 guarantee. It attracted only 7 runners with 2 to be paid. I kept my cool and played well, but once again I was destined to go out to a sickening beat. This time it came on the bubble when I couldn’t dodge a 2-outer with 2 cards to come (HH blow). That was enough, I was no longer in the correct frame of mind to continue playing and quit for the day, a full five hours earlier than intended.
August poker points 393
6799423 28-Aug-12 14:03 NL Holdem £339/66-£3.306799008 28-Aug-12 13:49 NL Holdem £555/56-£5.756799086 28-Aug-12 13:03 NL Holdem £320/89-£0.776799087 28-Aug-12 12:51 NL Holdem £33/7-£3.306801036 28-Aug-12 11:51 NL Holdem £31/2£2.85
My final hand of the day, a typical example of my misfortune over the last 48 hours;
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalanceGaryQQQ Small blind 200.00 200.00 9500.00 Big blind 400.00 600.00 15230.00 Your hole cards A A persephers Raise 800.00 1400.00 10870.00 GaryQQQ Raise 1795.00 3195.00 7705.00 Call 1595.00 4790.00 13635.00 persephers Fold Flop J 3 5 GaryQQQ Bet 2795.00 7585.00 4910.00 Raise 5590.00 13175.00 8045.00 GaryQQQ All-in 4910.00 18085.00 0.00 Call 2115.00 20200.00 5930.00 GaryQQQ Show A A Show 6 6 Turn 6 River J Win Full House, 6s and Jacks 20200.00 26130.00
chin up m8 you are still well on your way to that magical £1,051 target of yours.
looks as though we could both do with a little boost atm.
keep doing the right things and i'm sure your next big win will not be too far away.
best wishes m8.
dev
This poker is a funny 'ole game; the luck seems to be change like tides; it all goes one way for a long time, then suddenly turns and starts to go the other way. It would appear the tide has been going out for both of us over the last few days. all we can do is be patient and keep our cool, it'll be coming in again soon and that's when we'll reap the rewards. Best of luck to you too.
ty
all the best things are worth wating for.....
isn't that what they say.
it's all about patience & discipline as you already know,like you say the tide will turn our way again.
best wishes m8.
Closing balance £747.39
(up £23.78 today)
Carried straight on from where I left off yesterday; the very first pot I entered in the 9-45 BH cost me half my stack when my pocket JJ was outdrawn by a player holding the mighty 53s. My OOP opponent called my 4x raise over his limp. Despite completely missing the flop completely he decided to call my continuation bets anyway. I can only assume he’s psychic; somehow he managed to make a running flush by the river. I fought my way back to average, but lost a big AQ<33 flip, soon after going out with KQs<AJo aipf.
Things started better in the 10-45; when down to only 25 of the 78 entrants left I was in third place and in a good position to launch a deep run. However a series of three all-in pre-flop pots in a 2 orbit spell (two pair v overcard flips and a 60/40 against a 10BB limp/caller with 98o) all went against me, each time with a bounty up for grabs. I then went out in 17th place when my shove was called by a gambler who got there against my overcards with his T4o. I tried a £2.30 game next and made a fairly early exit with my AJ no good vs A7 on an ace-high flop.
After a break for lunch I had another storming start in the 2-30pm £5.75 Bounty Hunter; up to 3x starting stack within 3 levels (though without any bounties). Then the next horror beat arrived to cost me a head prize and a significant chiplead. I picked up pocket AA on the SB when a player with 19BB open-shoved from UTG. I flatted and successfully induced the BB into entering the pot too. The BB folded to my flop bet, but I was drawing almost dead to the UTG shover; he’d flopped a miracle nut-flush with his A3s and scooped the 58BB pot.
For a while I spiralled downwards, assuming I was destined to draw another blank. However, just for little while, and for the first time in a week, the deck was kind to me. I didn’t win any pots from behind, but coolered an opponent with K7 v A9 on a 77A flop and managed a couple of crucial holds with QQ>A2 aipf and A7>76 aipf to climb back towards the top of the field and safely negotiate the bubble, taking two head prizes on the way.
To cut a long story short I was clear chipleader at the final table with only four players left, but a player leading a very charmed life was destined to bust me in fourth. Firstly he was on the big blind when I 3-bet shoved AKs from the button, he called off his stack with KJ and binked a J on the turn to double-up. A hold there would have given me over 50% of the chips in play with 3 players left. 2 orbits later I open-jammed from the button with pocket 99 and 15BB behind, the same player woke up with KK, no miracle card for me and I was out. Earlier this guy had folded down to less than 2BB with 5 players left.
While it was nice to record my first MTT cash for a week and record a winning day, overall I’m very disappointed. I feel I was the best player at that £5.75 final table, yet was deprived of a likely victory by the cruel AKs<KJo aipf suck-out. It doesn’t seem to matter what I do in these £5.75s, I’m unable to win under any circumstances. The latest count during this quest is played 125, final tables 29, wins 0. With the wins being worth about £100 a time this quest would have been completeted before now if I'd run to expectation and taken down 5 of those 29 final tables.
Did I run better today? Absolutely not; I didn’t win a single MTT pot today when getting my chips in as an underdog. I lost several from well ahead including AA<A3s aipf and the horrible AKs<KJ aipf hand at the final table.
August poker points 416
6805316 29-Aug-12 17:35 NL Holdem £54/85£20.196803966 29-Aug-12 15:41 NL Holdem £232/39-£2.306803965 29-Aug-12 13:33 NL Holdem £317/78£0.646806776 29-Aug-12 13:22 NL Holdem £51/2£4.756806607 29-Aug-12 12:51 NL Holdem £11/2£0.956803634 29-Aug-12 12:47 NL Holdem £341/99-£3.306806680 29-Aug-12 12:37 NL Holdem £31/2£2.85
Closing balance £745.75
(down £1.64 today)
My first MTT of the day, the 10-45 BH, brought a pleasing run to the final table. It included a suckout (extremely rare for me lately) with my AJ busting a short-stack who open-shoved pocket KK in the mid-stages. Unfortunately I was unable to take it down; my exit came in third place when I shoved pocket 33 from the button and lost out to a caller with K8s. With all stacks very shallow after 3 hours of play, mine the shortest of the three, it was a spot where the chips just had to go in. Note to self; must learn to flip better at final tables.
It went badly downhill after that; nearly the entire afternoon was very tilting. I entered the 2-30 £5.75 Bounty Hunter, but spent my time in the game completely card-dead. Particularly frustrating was a series of HU matches I entered with the intention of boosting my poker points; I ran just about as badly as is possible losing just about every aipf pot due to a series of comedy run-outs and miracle river cards in my opponents favour. I even managed to lose 6 out of 8 roulette games (see final paragraph).
In a 30 minute timed tournament I was eliminated after 29 minutes of play by an opponent who made an awful call only to hit his gutshot to crack my two pairs on the river, the pot was worth £17.40. It reminded me just how much I hate these timed games, you won’t see me in one again for a very long time, I stand almost no chance in any sort of run-good competition at the moment.
My final game saved the afternoon from being a complete disaster when I made a run to the final table of the 3-30 £5.75 Bounty Hunter. I was in good shape through most of the game, but a couple of harsh beats in crucial spots made big dents to my stack and cost me bounties. The most annoying came on the final table bubble when my QJs lost to K4 after all the chips went in on a Q42 rainbow flop. The 4 on the turn cost me the biggest head-prize in the field at that time, a juicy pot, a 50% boost to my stack and a great chance of victory. I then fell quite short during 6-handed play, but was gifted a double-up by a slow-playing limper with JJ who doubled me up. I held 72o on the big-blind, the flop came down 72T. Unfortunately that was the last pot I won, down to 9BB during 4-handed play I jammed A8 into A9, I flopped an 8 only to lose to a running straight.
That’s now 30 £5.75 Bounty Hunter final table appearances during this quest without a single win, quite incredible. Once again I didn’t win a single pot in the entire tournament after getting my chips in as an underdog, though I lost 2 after getting my chips in post-flop with a dominating hand. Will it ever turn the other way? If does maybe I’ll get one of those very overdue first places.
To make ensure I reach the 500 poker point threshold to qualify for a C4P payment I mixed in a few roulette HU games today. Normally I wouldn’t dream of playing RR, but this was one of those rare occasions when it becomes a +ev decision. Each £2.00 game earns 3 poker points for 20p rake, i.e. 6.67p per point. My 8 games cost me £1.60 in rake for 24 points, thereby ensuring a £5.00 C4P payment. Unfortunately, while this was a mathematically correct decision, it didn’t work out too well; I lost 6 of the 8 games. No surprise there then.
Late in the afternoon I had a very welcome surprise; I was informed I've been awarded a seat in the new 'Top of the Posts' competition. I'm honoured to be chosen and very much looking forward to the game. It's being played a couple of hours after my usual bedtime, my body-clock won't be amused but I'll do my best!
August poker points 477
6810696 30-Aug-12 18:27 NL Holdem £54/69£13.846810496 30-Aug-12 17:05 NL Holdem £522/70-£5.756812718 30-Aug-12 16:00 NL Holdem £22/2-£2.206812659 30-Aug-12 15:46 NL Holdem £22/2-£2.206812655 30-Aug-12 15:45 NL Holdem £21/2£1.806812646 30-Aug-12 15:44 NL Holdem £22/2-£2.206812643 30-Aug-12 15:43 NL Holdem £22/2-£2.206808830 30-Aug-12 15:36 NL Holdem £322/66-£3.306812507 30-Aug-12 15:10 NL Holdem £52/2-£5.256812486 30-Aug-12 15:00 NL Holdem £12/2-£1.056812468 30-Aug-12 14:59 NL Holdem £21/2£1.806812480 30-Aug-12 14:58 NL Holdem £11/2£0.956812383 30-Aug-12 14:54 NL Holdem £22/2-£2.206812285 30-Aug-12 14:49 NL Holdem £22/2-£2.106812205 30-Aug-12 14:39 NL Holdem £32/2-£3.156812360 30-Aug-12 14:31 NL Holdem £22/2-£2.206812271 30-Aug-12 14:29 NL Holdem £12/2-£1.056812303 30-Aug-12 14:28 NL Holdem £12/2-£1.056812254 30-Aug-12 14:17 NL Holdem £12/2-£1.056812220 30-Aug-12 14:08 NL Holdem £11/2£0.956812193 30-Aug-12 14:05 NL Holdem £12/2-£1.056809067 30-Aug-12 13:50 NL Holdem £33/68£17.126810813 30-Aug-12 02:34 NL Holdem £11/2£0.956810710 30-Aug-12 02:27 NL Holdem £12/2-£1.05
Heads-up fun. This was a £5.25 game, the winner of the hand gets £10.00. I could post several like this taken from this afternoon;
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalanceGaryQQQ Small blind 10.00 10.00 490.00 Big blind 20.00 30.00 480.00 Your hole cards Q Q GaryQQQ Raise 30.00 60.00 460.00 Call 20.00 80.00 460.00 Flop 7 10 9 Check GaryQQQ Bet 55.00 135.00 405.00 Call 55.00 190.00 405.00 Turn 5 Bet 20.00 210.00 385.00 GaryQQQ Raise 135.00 345.00 270.00 All-in 385.00 730.00 0.00 GaryQQQ All-in 270.00 1000.00 0.00 GaryQQQ Show Q Q Show 4 5 River 4 Win Two Pairs, 5s and 4s 1000.00 1000.00
Closing balance £774.55
(up £28.80 today)
Déjà vu struck I lost my first 2 HU matches of the day with 77<A7 aipf and JJ<K7 aipf.
In my first MTT I went out holding 9x with 5678r on the board, my opponent held 9T. It was a £3 speed rebuy, by then I already had the feeling it wasn’t going to be my game so didn’t bother to buy back in.
Things looked much more promising in my second MTT, a £2 rebuy. I found myself chipleader on the bubble (3 left, 2 paid) courtesy of a couple of flopped sets that got paid in full. However sod’s law kicked in again. I took on the shortest stack with my AJs vs his KT aipf, he won and I slipped down to third of three. My stack dwindled further, when down to 12BB I went into ‘double or bust asap’ mode and managed to shove my A8 from the button into A9 on the SB.
But hold on……………shock/horror………. I sucked out! One finally went my way! I binked an 8 on the flop to double-up. I feel no guilt whatsoever, I’m owed many of these. Furthermore it was against the KT>AJs guy. Soon after that I won another big pot with TT>AQ to double again and take a commanding lead (27K v 5K v 4K). The chips went in on the turn, my opponent calling off with a queen-high flush draw and overcards to a low board. Phew; I dodged his outs.
I pushed on from there to take the win, my prize being £37.50 with £4.40 invested, enough to bring me a new highest balance. While this is only small bink it was very welcome after a hellish run of luck over the last few days. Hopefully I’ve turned a corner, though I’m still left wondering why haven’t I been able to do this in any of my 30x £5.75 Bounty Hunter final tables.
I didn’t want to play any more poker, but bought into a £1 hyper HU match and 4x £2.20 roulette games (won 2, lost 2) to earn me the last 13 poker points required to reach the all-important 500 point threshold and lock-up a £5.00 C4P bonus.
August poker points 500 (£5.00)
6817666 31-Aug-12 15:37 NL Holdem £22/2-£2.206817658 31-Aug-12 15:35 NL Holdem £21/2£1.806817647 31-Aug-12 15:34 NL Holdem £21/2£1.806817588 31-Aug-12 15:32 NL Holdem £11/2£0.956817604 31-Aug-12 15:30 NL Holdem £22/2-£2.206815660 31-Aug-12 14:15 NL Holdem £21/9£35.306813803 31-Aug-12 13:20 NL Holdem £39/14-£3.306815879 31-Aug-12 02:27 NL Holdem £11/2£0.956815868 31-Aug-12 02:19 NL Holdem £12/2-£1.056815835 31-Aug-12 02:16 NL Holdem £12/2-£1.05
My turn to suck-out, the beautiful 8 that led to a victory;
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalancepaulsmoney Small blind 300.00 300.00 17120.00 MRPAULZ1 Big blind 600.00 900.00 11700.00 Your hole cards A 8 GaryQQQ All-in 7280.00 8180.00 0.00 paulsmoney Call 6980.00 15160.00 10140.00 MRPAULZ1 Fold paulsmoney Show 9 A GaryQQQ Show A 8 Flop 8 K 2 Turn J River 10 GaryQQQ Win Pair of 8s 15160.00 15160.00
told you that you just had to be patient.
keep it going m8....
i could be
buying you that pint after all. lol
dev
Closing balance £786.32
(up £11.77 today)
This afternoon I entered a series of low stakes MTTs. I managed two minor second place finishes, though results were disappointing overall.
The first runner-up spot came in the £50 gtd £2 rebuy (I won the same tournament yesterday). I played my best, but was condemned by a HU cooler; my opponent flopped a well hidden straight with 95o in his hand and 678 on the board. Stacks were too shallow for me to get away, my T8s was drawing to only 3 outs or a running flush and I didn’t get there. My prize of £15 was nothing to write home about with £6.60 invested.
As is typical at the weekend the £2.30 Bounty Hunters were bingo central today. I played three, had chances to win two, but as has been usual over the last week I couldn’t win those crucial late-stages hands.
In the first £2.30 I busted very early with 44<32o (with pocket 66 also all-in) for a 300BB pot, all the chips going in with 345J on the board, the 32o guy hit one of his six outs to win the monster pot with just one card to come. You see it all in these games.
I came very close to winning the second £2.30, only to get busted by a gross beat in the tournament deciding hand (see below). In the third £2.30 I only managed a min-cash, my As8s failing to improve on a flop of 5c6s2s against K2o. The hand was essentially a flip; any A, 8 or spade wins it for me. I had 52% equity when the chips went in, so no regrets at all.
After a break I returned to play in the evening Mini Bounty Hunter. I lasted 5 hands. With KJs on the SB I check-raised to 300 on a 45J rainbow flop, a player with 56 decided his hand was good enough to come along for the ride, I'm sure you can guess the rest. To be honest I was quite happy to bust early and didn’t bother re-entering. My daily 1-30am starts do not mix well with evening poker; I was feeling too tired to concentrate and probably shouldn’t have entered this tournament in the first place.
September poker points 21
6820591 2-Sep-12 00:51 NL Holdem £3328/335-£3.306820774 1-Sep-12 19:25 NL Holdem £25/47£3.626821537 1-Sep-12 17:01 NL Holdem (Sat) £3.304/14-£3.606819819 1-Sep-12 16:30 NL Holdem £22/29£8.956816891 1-Sep-12 14:43 NL Holdem £0195/195£06818999 1-Sep-12 14:22 NL Holdem £223/33-£2.306820759 1-Sep-12 14:07 NL Holdem £22/13£12.80
What more can I do? A bingo player makes one of the worst calls I’ve ever seen to defeat me heads-up and win a Bounty Hunter tournament. He had 8% equity in the hand when the chips went in.
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalanceGaryQQQ Small blind 500.00 500.00 26540.00 Big blind 1000.00 1500.00 29960.00 Your hole cards K A GaryQQQ Raise 1500.00 3000.00 25040.00 Call 1000.00 4000.00 28960.00 Flop 9 2 K Check GaryQQQ Bet 2000.00 6000.00 23040.00 Call 2000.00 8000.00 26960.00 Turn 4 Check GaryQQQ All-in 23040.00 31040.00 0.00 All-in 26960.00 58000.00 0.00 Unmatched bet 3920.00 54080.00 3920.00 GaryQQQ Show K A Show 4 5 River 5 Win Two Pairs, 5s and 4s 54080.00 58000.00
good to see you moving forwards again m8.
yes it's unbelievable/laughable how light some people will call you down isn't it?
i think the thing is they actually win with these hands so i guess they must think it's good play.
anyway,that aside ,well done m8,keep it going
dev
Closing balance £812.32
(up £26.00 today)
Due to family commitments I didn’t have much time for poker today. In the afternoon I played a few micro games, roughly breaking even.
Highlight of the day poker-wise was participating in the inaugural ‘Top of the Posts’ STT. The 9-00pm start was awkward for me, but I feel honoured to have been chosen so I made an exception and stayed up late for the game (and let’s face it, who’d skip a freeroll with a guaranteed prize of £10+?).
It was a fun fast-structured game, played in good spirit with a friendly rail. The hand that determined my finishing position came when I open-shoved KJs from the button during 3-handed play when all stacks were shallow. The big-blind made the call with 76o, this was the first all-in and call hand I’d been involved in, a hold would have seen me go heads-up for the £50 first prize; the flop came down 589 lol. Still, I’m pretty used to that sort of thing nowadays, it’s the nature of the game, I’m very grateful to receive £25 in a freeroll and breach the £800 barrier to record a new highest balance.
September poker points 27
6812739 2-Sep-12 21:44 NL Holdem £03/6£256828020 2-Sep-12 19:21 NL Holdem £11/2£0.956822644 2-Sep-12 18:29 NL Holdem £0176/368£06824776 2-Sep-12 17:03 NL Holdem £29/15-£2.306827038 2-Sep-12 15:44 NL Holdem £11/6£3.406827016 2-Sep-12 15:12 NL Holdem £12/2-£1.05
well done on getting into the £800 m8.
looks as though i've got some serious catching up to do when i get back playing again,tomorrow.
keep it going buddy,not that far to go now.
dev
Closing balance £805.00
(down £7.32 today)
A busy day left very little time for poker, yet it was long enough for me to give a fine demonstration of what I do best; get my chips in good only see comedy run-outs sn_atch defeat from the jaws of victory.
My first HU game set the tone when my ATs was no good against A6s aipf for all the chips.
Fun run-outs in my first Bounty Hunter included A6<KJ with A2K6 on the board, my JJ doubling an opponent holding 23o on a 963 flop, then a bust with A8<KQ aipf (I made top pair on a safe looking flop, turn T, river J).
My second Bounty Game (£5.75) started in promising fashion with a level 1 double and head-prize. I was going well and enjoying the game until level 5 when an uber- crazy bingo maniac joined my table. I thought I had him ‘hook line and sinker’ when my QJ saw a QJ5 flop and he bet/called shove with K5. The pot was 10.9K with blinds at 100/50, average stack 4K. Considering many similar experiences over the last week or so it was absolutely no surprise to me when he hit another 5 on the river to bust me.
That was enough, I was too disgusted to continue playing. It’s incredible how badly I’m running in all-in situations at the moment, I find it truly bewildering how I continue to get outdrawn again, and again, and again.
September poker points 41
6829719 3-Sep-12 18:17 NL Holdem £532/64-£3.876829235 3-Sep-12 17:32 NL Holdem £213/26-£2.306831021 3-Sep-12 15:07 NL Holdem £11/2£0.956830461 3-Sep-12 11:42 NL Holdem £12/2-£1.056830401 3-Sep-12 11:31 NL Holdem £12/2-£1.05
Once again an opponents atrocious call busts me from an MTT. This player went on to win the tournament with 14 head-prizes and bank over £100;
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalanceshakeitup Small blind 40.00 40.00 480.00 p Big blind 80.00 120.00 6786.25 Your hole cards J Q anwario12 Fold emma03 Fold GaryQQQ Call 80.00 200.00 5355.00 shakeitup Fold p Raise 240.00 440.00 6546.25 GaryQQQ Call 240.00 680.00 5115.00 Flop Q J 5 p Bet 510.00 1190.00 6036.25 GaryQQQ All-in 5115.00 6305.00 0.00 p Call 4605.00 10910.00 1431.25 p Show 5 K GaryQQQ Show J Q Turn 3 River 5 p Win Three 5s 10910.00 12341.25
Closing balance £820.71
(up £15.71 today)
Any hopes that a new day might see my luck reset were quickly dashed when I bought into a couple of quick HU matches before leaving for work. I lost both due to a series of bad-beats. In the second game my opponent came back from having his last 60 chips all-in and behind with only one card to come. He then won a series of aipf pots including his 73o beating my pocket KK. Poker was a dirty word as I went out of the door.
By the time I returned home I’d cooled down and bought into the 11-30am Bounty Hunter. I enjoyed a flying start with my AKs>AKo for an early double followed by my pocket 99 flopping a set to crack KK and earn me a head-prize. Unfortunately it was short-lived, a series of coolers and a few bad decisions by me cost me my stack over the next few levels.
Ridiculous run-outs came back to haunt me again in a £3.30 Scary MTT; my exit came when I jammed over a limper with KQ, he called with QT. It looked promising when I flopped a king, however the two clubs dealt on the turn and river gave my opponent the dreaded runner-runner flush and I was out.
The second £5.75 BH ended with my AQ<AK aipf, SB v button, 20BB effective stacks. I’d seen the same guy call a deeper 3-bet shove earlier in the game with A3s, so I I’m happy with my play.
In a £2.30 Bounty Hunter I was going great in 3rd/6 at the final table when the next cruel beat wrecked my chances. I opened pocket 55, found 3 callers and flopped my set. Two of the callers folded to my c-bet, the other came along for the ride. He decided to donk-shove into me on the turn holding two overcards to the board and a nut-flush draw. Fading flush draws isn’t something I do very well at the moment; he managed to hit one of his 8 live flush outs on the river. A hold would have given me his head and a substantial chiplead, as it was I was left with 10BB. Three hands later I open-shoved AK and lost the race against TT to bust in sixth.
My third £5.75 started badly when a level 3 AK<TT aipf flip put me in deep trouble. However I managed to fight my way back, starting with a crucial JJ<ATs aipf hold for my tournament life. From there my stack grew steadily and I took 3 head-prizes in the mid-stages, one of them very fortunately when I KO’d a shortie with my K5>AK aipf blind vs blind.
As the bubble approached I found myself at a tricky table facing some skilled opponents, all of us holding at least 50% more chips than the tournament average. Fortunately just as my stack was beginning to dwindle due to a drought of cards a key race went my way; my 66>AK aipf to take my fourth bounty and put me back in contention. On the final table bubble I was back in trouble; I jammed KQs from the SB over a serial limper on the button, he called with ace-rag and I failed to improve. That left me 7th/7 and sitting on only 6.5BB. I made it to final table due to another player busting before me, then a double with AQ>66 pulled me back from the brink and gave me hope.
After the double with pocket 66 a series of uncalled shoves and a pot won with T4o when an opponent kindly limped into my big blind brought me back into contention. A further boost came when I busted the sixth place finisher who’d just lost a race and shoved his last 3BB into my big blind, one of those easy ‘call with any two cards’ spots with nobody else in the pot. I then busted the fifth place finisher in similar fashion. After 150 minutes of play I was 2nd/4, though a fair way behind the chipleader. Unfortunately I then went out to a harsh cooler; I jammed AK over the ace-rag serial limper mentioned earlier. He folded, but unfortunately the chipleader on the big-blind was sitting on AA. It was very cruel timing for me, AK is always going-in there, it is very difficult indeed to run AK into AA at any 4-handed table.
So my count of £5.75 BH final tables during this quest has now reached 31 and I’m still waiting for the first win. Trying to look on the bright side; at least this game saved my day and edged me up to a new highest balance. Also I won a few big races to get to that final table, something that hasn’t happened much lately.
I feel I’m still running a long way to the wrong side of variance, I have been since my recent 4 day break. However, I must remind myself that long term results count far more than those over the short term. I’m around £770 in profit so far over the course of this quest, possibly something the majority of recreational players could only dream of, so really I have nothing to complain about at all. A lot of my opponents have made bad plays over the last few days and got very lucky on the run-out. I wish them the best, all I can do is stay happy knowing that as long as I continue to play well I’m certain to beat these guys in the long run.
September poker points 78
6833917 4-Sep-12 17:25 NL Holdem £54/65£28.886833235 4-Sep-12 16:22 NL Holdem £26/17-£0.806832969 4-Sep-12 15:54 NL Holdem £540/68-£5.756830634 4-Sep-12 14:43 NL Holdem £047/215£06835405 4-Sep-12 14:04 NL Holdem £12/2-£1.056832186 4-Sep-12 13:54 NL Holdem £525/58-£3.876834214 4-Sep-12 13:40 NL Holdem £310/10-£3.306835117 4-Sep-12 12:37 NL Holdem £51/2£4.756835121 4-Sep-12 12:27 NL Holdem £12/2-£1.056834169 4-Sep-12 02:27 NL Holdem £12/2-£1.056834124 4-Sep-12 02:14 NL Holdem £12/2-£1.05
keep going m8,
i'm back after an enforced 3 days off,so lets get grinding
gl biddy
dev
Closing balance £805.89
(down £14.82 today)
No joy for me in MTTs today, won a little back in HU games.
First game was the 9-45 BH. After a promising start a cooler against the only other big stack at my table led to an early exit. I re-raised over an all-in short-stack with AK, the villain in the hand flat called my raise with pocket 88; the K83r rainbow flop condemned me. The pot in the middle was worth the chiplead and a head-prize, I was unable to find a fold.
In the 10-45 BH I found myself seated at a wild bingo-style table. Early gambling led to several eliminations and left two very loose players with very big stacks. They were both involved in every pot and didn’t like folding, however I didn’t pick up strong enough hole-cards or connect with any flops well enough to profit from their style of play. I kept my head above water for 75 minutes but busted the first time I was all-in and called, my AQs losing to JJ aipf.
A £2.30 BH ended with another cooler; my 5 running into 9T with 4678r on the board. I then tried my luck in a £3 freezeout but couldn’t get anything going, I went out in 19th/48 when losing a flip with K8<77 aipf.
In my second £2.30 BH I went out in comedy fashion with KK<TT aipf. I turned a set, my opponent rivered a straight lol. ‘The hand of doom’ strikes again.
There was more hilarity in the third £2.30; I was going great until I watched my AJ get donked by QJ following an AA2 flop (turn K, river T). That left me short and looking to double or bust. With the player on the big-blind sitting out I opted to open-jam J9s from the button with 19BB behind. The same player who’d donked me with the QJ made a loose call with 89o. It’s a call I want, but it didn’t work out today; he binked an 8 on the turn to bust me.
A £1 rebuy was next. With ten minutes of the re-buy period to go I was in the top 3 from over 50 starters with more than double the tournament average, then my stack was quickly decimated by a terrible run of cards. Firstly the curse of pocket KK struck again; I managed to get it all-in against TJ on a T73 flop for a 150BB pot, a ten hit on the river of course. A few hands later I failed to dodge a gutshot chaser with KT who got there on the river to beat my KQ on a 3QA flop. Then my set of 8s lost to QJ that rivered a straight. My big stack was gone and I was beginning to wonder if I was unknowingly appearing on an episode of ‘You’ve been Rivered’. I tried a final roll of the dice with a double re-buy and add-on. It was to no avail, my exit eventually coming with AQ<KK aipf, button vs SB.
Between tournaments I played a few HU matches and a 15-minute timed game, I finished a little ahead from these to offset some of the MTT loses.
The deck was very unkind to me in MTTs today, despite that can honestly say I enjoyed the games and was laughing out loud through the comical beats. I know I played well, that’s far more important than the results as far as I’m concerned.
September poker points 104
6835804 5-Sep-12 18:19 NL Holdem £0236/243£06838832 5-Sep-12 18:08 NL Holdem £122/60-£1.106840165 5-Sep-12 16:29 NL Holdem £31/2£2.856837609 5-Sep-12 16:24 NL Holdem £213/30-£1.556837444 5-Sep-12 16:19 NL Holdem £230/34-£2.306840049 5-Sep-12 15:58 NL Holdem £11/2£0.956838581 5-Sep-12 15:26 NL Holdem £319/48-£3.306836922 5-Sep-12 14:23 NL Holdem £216/26-£2.306837099 5-Sep-12 13:27 NL Holdem £323/73-£3.306839546 5-Sep-12 13:04 NL Holdem £11/2£0.956839540 5-Sep-12 12:56 NL Holdem £11/2£0.956839418 5-Sep-12 12:54 NL Holdem £12/2-£1.056836737 5-Sep-12 12:42 NL Holdem £366/88-£2.176836053 5-Sep-12 12:26 NL Holdem £211/60£26839302 5-Sep-12 12:13 NL Holdem £12/2-£1.05
‘The hand of Doom’ strikes again. I picked up pocket KK twice today (not for the squeamish);
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalancePapahaveit Sit out h Small blind 15.00 15.00 1460.00 Steady93 Big blind 30.00 45.00 5570.00 Your hole cards K K bowlsrus20 Fold GaryQQQ Raise 90.00 135.00 1260.00 GADGETBOY1 Fold h All-in 1460.00 1595.00 0.00 Steady93 Fold GaryQQQ All-in 1260.00 2855.00 0.00 h Unmatched bet 125.00 2730.00 125.00 h Show 10 10 GaryQQQ Show K K Flop Q 9 A Turn K River J h Win Straight to the Ace 2730.00 2855.00
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalancebSmall blind 40.00 40.00 3660.00 jhotone Big blind 80.00 120.00 3220.00 Your hole cards K K eddlaney1 Fold GaryQQQ Raise 240.00 360.00 9500.00 foxy666603 Fold scojabar Fold b Call 200.00 560.00 3460.00 jhotone Fold Flop 10 3 7 b Bet 560.00 1120.00 2900.00 GaryQQQ All-in 9500.00 10620.00 0.00 bAll-in 2900.00 13520.00 0.00 GaryQQQ Unmatched bet 6040.00 7480.00 6040.00 bShow 10 J GaryQQQ Show K K Turn 5 River 10 bWin Three 10s 7480.00 7480.00