This week’s trend continues; I’m profiting nicely in HU STTs, losing money in £2.30 Bounty Hunters. Such is the nature of MTTs. Barren spells are normal and fully expected. There are plenty of poor players in the £2.30s making eccentric plays. Despite the current lack of success they remain a good hunting ground, I’ll keep plugging away in the knowledge my edge on the field will bear fruit sooner or later.
My balance is closing in on £99.00. When it gets there my 30 buy-in rule will allow me to enter the two morning £3.30 BHs. I’m looking forward to get back into these, the £150 guarantee leads to a bigger prizepool than you see in any daytime £2.30s, also the rake is better value.
It’s always nice to make quads, though must admit in the heat of the moment I was flummoxed on the river here, unsure whether to shove or check. I checked to feign giving-up, hoping my aggressive opponents shoving range would include some bluffs, therefore being wider than his calling range. It might have been a mistake, I didn’t consider that he might check-back with some hands that would call my shoves. As it was it didn’t really matter, with his nut full-house losing to only one card in the deck both stacks were going in regardless of my action.
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalanceSmall blind 15.00 15.00 1560.00 GaryQQQ Big blind 30.00 45.00 1395.00 Your hole cards Q A Raise 45.00 90.00 1515.00 GaryQQQ Raise 150.00 240.00 1245.00 Call 120.00 360.00 1395.00 Flop A 3 A GaryQQQ Bet 180.00 540.00 1065.00 Call 180.00 720.00 1215.00 Turn K GaryQQQ Bet 360.00 1080.00 705.00 Call 360.00 1440.00 855.00 River A GaryQQQ Check All-in 855.00 2295.00 0.00 GaryQQQ All-in 705.00 3000.00 0.00 Unmatched bet 150.00 2850.00 150.00 Show K 6 GaryQQQ Show Q A GaryQQQ Win Four Aces 2850.00 2850.00
Nice one Gary Really enjoy the honest appraisals of your play Have aslo ordered 'Winning Poker Tournaments One Hand at a Time - Looking forward to the read Run good mate G Posted by spurs_13
When I bought that book it paid for itself many times over, I hope it does the same for you. Good luck!
I've just by chance found something you put on YouTube a while ago. The comments are interesting! Posted by Jac35
Haha, I assume you mean the poker related video.
Hopefully the vast majority of people who stumble across it realise it's just comedy and have a laugh at what they see. Inevitable it attracts the attention of online poker conspiracy theorists too, the addition of their bonkers comments make it even funnier in my opinion.
I think the link is allowed. Somebody (not me) posted it on this forum a couple of years ago without upsetting anyone, so here it is;
Keep up the great work Gary, I've said it before and will no doubt say it again, I find your discipline and skill so impressive and the challenges you've undertaken could serve as a lesson to so many players I know.
Keep up the great work Gary, I've said it before and will no doubt say it again, I find your discipline and skill so impressive and the challenges you've undertaken could serve as a lesson to so many players I know. Posted by Slykllist
I don't usually make progress updates mid-way through the day, but I can't resist it at the moment after reaching a pleasing landmark!
Just before heading going out for a 2-00pm lunch meet-up I've reached the £100 mark, a very pleasing milestone on my path to £1K. The three weeks I spent playing freerolls with very little or no money in my account feel a long way behind me now.
I don't have time for MTTs today, I got over the line via HU STTs. 25 minutes before I was due to go out I came within one card of getting there in a standard speed £2.10 only to take a cruel two-outer with one to come; my AK and nut-flush draw losing to AJo when an off-suit jack hit on the river with all the chips already in the middle. I wasn't having that, so I jumped into a couple of hypers and ran well to win both to get there, the luck going my way this time with my TT beating JJ aipf in the last hand of the second game (though I had a 20+/1 lead at the time). Happy times
Thanks very much for your supportive posts Maxally, Lambert180, Glenelg and spurs_13.
Day 85
Closing Balance £100.06
Up £5.30 today
I was too busy to play poker this afternoon, so there’s nothing to add to my earlier update. Five wins from seven HU STTs in a short lunchtime session pushed me a lovely six pence over the three-figure mark.
My form in HU STTs so far continues to be a big surprise. They account for about 90% of the profit at this stage. According to the Sharkscope database I’ve won 180 and lost 108 from 288 games, giving an ROI of around 25%. Not bad for an MTT guy. I’m sure the HU success rate would tail off significantly if I moved up stakes and started to face stronger opponents. I still expect most of the remaining £900 to come from MTTs.
I'm sure once your BR allows you to regularly start playing the £3.30 MTT's, it won't be long before a bink see's you rocketing up the path to 1k. Gd work fella and keep us updated as always.
Probably because it’s a bank holiday there was a higher than usual proportion of unskilled players at the micro-stakes tables, mainly those of the bingo/maniac variety. In Bounty Hunters I couldn’t get anything going despite the soft fields. I’m happy I was playing well, it’s just that the cards just weren’t falling my way. I ran particularly badly in all-in situations, failing to hold several times when my stack went in as a big favourite.
HU STTs didn’t go well either, a series of coolers and all-ins lost when well ahead leading to worse results than usual.
March is over as far as this diary is concerned. I’m out all weekend so there’ll be no more poker for me until Monday. At the start of the month I had £52.21 in my account, I end it £35.67 higher. That’s a healthy increase of 68.3%. Volume was low (I only earned 224 Poker Points), because of holidays and stuff I only actually played on 17 of the 31 days. If I can at least repeat the same rate of growth in April I’ll be very happy.
Sometimes it’s just not your day. I saw loads like these, Bounty Hunter;
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalanceK Small blind 100.00 100.00 6077.50 carrotttop Big blind 200.00 300.00 18677.50 Your hole cards Q Q GaryQQQ Raise 400.00 700.00 3260.00 K Raise 1100.00 1800.00 4977.50 carrotttop Fold GaryQQQ All-in 3260.00 5060.00 0.00 K Call 2460.00 7520.00 2517.50 K Show J J GaryQQQ Show Q Q Flop A 4 8 Turn 2 River J K Win Three Jacks 7520.00 10037.50
HU STT;
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalanceGaryQQQ Small blind 15.00 15.00 1179.00 f Big blind 30.00 45.00 1776.00 Your hole cards 10 10 GaryQQQ Raise 45.00 90.00 1134.00 f Raise 60.00 150.00 1716.00 GaryQQQ Raise 180.00 330.00 954.00 f All-in 1716.00 2046.00 0.00 GaryQQQ All-in 954.00 3000.00 0.00 f Unmatched bet 612.00 2388.00 612.00 GaryQQQ Show 10 10 f Show 10 J Flop 9 6 8 Turn 4 River K f Win Flush to the Jack 2388.00 3000.00
Out of interest Gary, I know you're sticking to a 30BI rule (I think...) so £99 will allow you to play £3.30s, but what is your plan for stepping down if required?
For instance, some people say 20 BIs is fine for cash, but that means if you happen to lose a BI in your first session, straight from the get go, you're then playing with 19 BIs and if things don't pick up quickly, taking bigger and bigger risks.
If you're happy playing £3.30 MTTs now, if you played 1 and didnt cash and went to £97, would you stop, or would you give yourself say 3 goes til you were on £90 before going back to £2s?
EDIT: Wow, sorry, talk about bad timing!! I was writing this obviously as you were writing your update. Question still applies though really but to any level your BR reaches. If you are happy playing X BI when you get to X amount, how much do you allow before you step down if it doesn't go well?
Hi Paul. I step down immediately when I drop below 30 buy-ins, even if it's by just one penny. My first game this morning was a £3.30, then for the rest of the session my balance had dropped below £99.00. Therefore I wouldn't have even considered entering another £3.30 had I seen one going. I won't enter one again until my balance has recovered to £99+ again.
Being prepared to step down is very important in my opinion. I'm being very strict on myself, enforcing my rule to the letter to protect me from a sharp downswing.
Comments
Closing Balance £94.76
Up £2.70 today
This week’s trend continues; I’m profiting nicely in HU STTs, losing money in £2.30 Bounty Hunters. Such is the nature of MTTs. Barren spells are normal and fully expected. There are plenty of poor players in the £2.30s making eccentric plays. Despite the current lack of success they remain a good hunting ground, I’ll keep plugging away in the knowledge my edge on the field will bear fruit sooner or later.
My balance is closing in on £99.00. When it gets there my 30 buy-in rule will allow me to enter the two morning £3.30 BHs. I’m looking forward to get back into these, the £150 guarantee leads to a bigger prizepool than you see in any daytime £2.30s, also the rake is better value.
Todays results;
7749837HNLHU0.1GBPSkyPoker27/03/2013 14:47NL Hold'em £2 + £0.11/2£1.97747997HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker27/03/2013 14:45NL Hold'em £2 + £0.33/10-£0.37747672HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker27/03/2013 13:45NL Hold'em £2 + £0.316/28-£2.37749787HNLHU0.1GBPSkyPoker27/03/2013 13:35NL Hold'em £2 + £0.11/2£1.97747219HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker27/03/2013 12:15NL Hold'em £2 + £0.315/26-£2.37749561HNLT,HU0.1GBPSkyPoker27/03/2013 11:53NL Hold'em £2 + £0.11/2£1.97749442HNLT,HU0.1GBPSkyPoker27/03/2013 11:16NL Hold'em £2 + £0.11/2£1.9
It’s always nice to make quads, though must admit in the heat of the moment I was flummoxed on the river here, unsure whether to shove or check. I checked to feign giving-up, hoping my aggressive opponents shoving range would include some bluffs, therefore being wider than his calling range. It might have been a mistake, I didn’t consider that he might check-back with some hands that would call my shoves. As it was it didn’t really matter, with his nut full-house losing to only one card in the deck both stacks were going in regardless of my action.
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalanceSmall blind 15.00 15.00 1560.00 GaryQQQ Big blind 30.00 45.00 1395.00 Your hole cards Q A Raise 45.00 90.00 1515.00 GaryQQQ Raise 150.00 240.00 1245.00 Call 120.00 360.00 1395.00 Flop A 3 A GaryQQQ Bet 180.00 540.00 1065.00 Call 180.00 720.00 1215.00 Turn K GaryQQQ Bet 360.00 1080.00 705.00 Call 360.00 1440.00 855.00 River A GaryQQQ Check All-in 855.00 2295.00 0.00 GaryQQQ All-in 705.00 3000.00 0.00 Unmatched bet 150.00 2850.00 150.00 Show K 6 GaryQQQ Show Q A GaryQQQ Win Four Aces 2850.00 2850.00
Hopefully the vast majority of people who stumble across it realise it's just comedy and have a laugh at what they see. Inevitable it attracts the attention of online poker conspiracy theorists too, the addition of their bonkers comments make it even funnier in my opinion.
I think the link is allowed. Somebody (not me) posted it on this forum a couple of years ago without upsetting anyone, so here it is;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HxRW9F1kb8
Just before heading going out for a 2-00pm lunch meet-up I've reached the £100 mark, a very pleasing milestone on my path to £1K. The three weeks I spent playing freerolls with very little or no money in my account feel a long way behind me now.
I don't have time for MTTs today, I got over the line via HU STTs. 25 minutes before I was due to go out I came within one card of getting there in a standard speed £2.10 only to take a cruel two-outer with one to come; my AK and nut-flush draw losing to AJo when an off-suit jack hit on the river with all the chips already in the middle. I wasn't having that, so I jumped into a couple of hypers and ran well to win both to get there, the luck going my way this time with my TT beating JJ aipf in the last hand of the second game (though I had a 20+/1 lead at the time). Happy times
'My Account' at the time of posting;
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/8379/100quid.jpg
Only a matter of time before you get to 1k again
Day 85
Closing Balance £100.06
Up £5.30 today
I was too busy to play poker this afternoon, so there’s nothing to add to my earlier update. Five wins from seven HU STTs in a short lunchtime session pushed me a lovely six pence over the three-figure mark.
My form in HU STTs so far continues to be a big surprise. They account for about 90% of the profit at this stage. According to the Sharkscope database I’ve won 180 and lost 108 from 288 games, giving an ROI of around 25%. Not bad for an MTT guy. I’m sure the HU success rate would tail off significantly if I moved up stakes and started to face stronger opponents. I still expect most of the remaining £900 to come from MTTs.
Todays results;
7754248HNLT,HU0.1GBPSkyPoker28/03/2013 13:40NL Hold'em £2 + £0.11/2£1.97754218HNLT,HU0.1GBPSkyPoker28/03/2013 13:35NL Hold'em £2 + £0.11/2£1.97754175HNLHU0.1GBPSkyPoker28/03/2013 13:32NL Hold'em £2 + £0.12/2-£2.17754126HNLHU0.1GBPSkyPoker28/03/2013 13:12NL Hold'em £2 + £0.11/2£1.97753991HNLT,HU0.1GBPSkyPoker28/03/2013 12:45NL Hold'em £2 + £0.11/2£1.97754006HNLT,HU0.1GBPSkyPoker28/03/2013 12:26NL Hold'em £2 + £0.11/2£1.97753948HNLT,HU0.1GBPSkyPoker28/03/2013 12:13NL Hold'em £2 + £0.12/2-£2.1
I'd very happily take a second place to you at the moment Craig, it would be my best finish for quite a while!
Closing Balance £87.88
Down £12.18 today
A day best forgotten!
Probably because it’s a bank holiday there was a higher than usual proportion of unskilled players at the micro-stakes tables, mainly those of the bingo/maniac variety. In Bounty Hunters I couldn’t get anything going despite the soft fields. I’m happy I was playing well, it’s just that the cards just weren’t falling my way. I ran particularly badly in all-in situations, failing to hold several times when my stack went in as a big favourite.
HU STTs didn’t go well either, a series of coolers and all-ins lost when well ahead leading to worse results than usual.
March is over as far as this diary is concerned. I’m out all weekend so there’ll be no more poker for me until Monday. At the start of the month I had £52.21 in my account, I end it £35.67 higher. That’s a healthy increase of 68.3%. Volume was low (I only earned 224 Poker Points), because of holidays and stuff I only actually played on 17 of the 31 days. If I can at least repeat the same rate of growth in April I’ll be very happy.
Todays results;
7760281HNLT,HU0.1GBPSkyPoker29/03/2013 16:55NL Hold'em £2 + £0.11/2£1.97760170HNLHU0.1GBPSkyPoker29/03/2013 16:44NL Hold'em £2 + £0.12/2-£2.17759808HNLT,HU0.1GBPSkyPoker29/03/2013 16:25NL Hold'em £2 + £0.11/2£1.97760152HNLT,HU0.1GBPSkyPoker29/03/2013 16:23NL Hold'em £2 + £0.12/2-£2.17760060HNLHU0.1GBPSkyPoker29/03/2013 16:18NL Hold'em £2 + £0.12/2-£2.17760113HNLT,HU0.1GBPSkyPoker29/03/2013 16:10NL Hold'em £2 + £0.11/2£1.97760019HNLHU0.1GBPSkyPoker29/03/2013 16:08NL Hold'em £2 + £0.12/2-£2.17759547HNLT,HU0.1GBPSkyPoker29/03/2013 14:19NL Hold'em £2 + £0.11/2£1.97756915HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker29/03/2013 14:15NL Hold'em £2 + £0.37/26-£1.367759559HNLT,HU0.05GBPSkyPoker29/03/2013 14:14NL Hold'em £1 + £0.052/2-£1.057759553HNLT,HU0.05GBPSkyPoker29/03/2013 14:12NL Hold'em £1 + £0.052/2-£1.057759121HNLT,HU0.05GBPSkyPoker29/03/2013 12:47NL Hold'em £1 + £0.051/2£0.957756338HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker29/03/2013 12:45NL Hold'em £2 + £0.315/43-£2.37756149HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker29/03/2013 12:15NL Hold'em £2 + £0.323/31-£2.37758959HNLHU0.1GBPSkyPoker29/03/2013 12:10NL Hold'em £2 + £0.12/2-£2.17756337HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker29/03/2013 10:45NL Hold'em £3 + £0.339/122-£2.17
Sometimes it’s just not your day. I saw loads like these, Bounty Hunter;
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalanceK Small blind 100.00 100.00 6077.50 carrotttop Big blind 200.00 300.00 18677.50 Your hole cards Q Q GaryQQQ Raise 400.00 700.00 3260.00 K Raise 1100.00 1800.00 4977.50 carrotttop Fold GaryQQQ All-in 3260.00 5060.00 0.00 K Call 2460.00 7520.00 2517.50 K Show J J GaryQQQ Show Q Q Flop A 4 8 Turn 2 River J K Win Three Jacks 7520.00 10037.50
HU STT;
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalanceGaryQQQ Small blind 15.00 15.00 1179.00 f Big blind 30.00 45.00 1776.00 Your hole cards 10 10 GaryQQQ Raise 45.00 90.00 1134.00 f Raise 60.00 150.00 1716.00 GaryQQQ Raise 180.00 330.00 954.00 f All-in 1716.00 2046.00 0.00 GaryQQQ All-in 954.00 3000.00 0.00 f Unmatched bet 612.00 2388.00 612.00 GaryQQQ Show 10 10 f Show 10 J Flop 9 6 8 Turn 4 River K f Win Flush to the Jack 2388.00 3000.00
For instance, some people say 20 BIs is fine for cash, but that means if you happen to lose a BI in your first session, straight from the get go, you're then playing with 19 BIs and if things don't pick up quickly, taking bigger and bigger risks.
If you're happy playing £3.30 MTTs now, if you played 1 and didnt cash and went to £97, would you stop, or would you give yourself say 3 goes til you were on £90 before going back to £2s?
EDIT: Wow, sorry, talk about bad timing!! I was writing this obviously as you were writing your update. Question still applies though really but to any level your BR reaches. If you are happy playing X BI when you get to X amount, how much do you allow before you step down if it doesn't go well?
Being prepared to step down is very important in my opinion. I'm being very strict on myself, enforcing my rule to the letter to protect me from a sharp downswing.