In Response to Re: 1,000 Poker Points ----- /> £1,000 Can it be done? Latest balance £448.89 : Good luck with the sweat! Had a similar situation recently where I had a huge sweat in the scoop (m) main event. I had 10% of someone going into day 2 placed 30thish out of 60ish left with $220k uptop! I hope your man runs better than my 'horse' did when it matters Very exciting though! I seem to remember you went extremely deep in the primo once, so if this will 'easily' top that in terms of £££ it sounds like it could be a very significant return! Is he a friend in real life? or did you purchase the action via a forum/twitter etc? GL!!!!! Also great work on the challenge/diary as always. Have seen you in a few BH's recently that I've started playing, the 1pm/2pm ones. Some interesting play to contend with! Posted by DOHHHHHHH
Cheers. Very unlucky to you with yours, I'm sure the $22K would have come in very useful!
I've known Witteles loosely through another online poker community for a couple of years, not in person. When he offered action I jumped straight in, thought he was great value, he sold out very fast. I'm hoping for the final table at least, there are still three very short stacks still alive, but this is tournament poker so anything could happen.
Yes, you see a lot of eccentric play in those Bounty Hunters, hence they're great value over a large sample despite the 15% rake.
Let me know when you're in Poole, i'll come say hi Posted by VespaPX
Will do. I'm planning to set off from South Haven Point on the morning of Sunday September 15th, I'll be staying with relatives in The New Forest the night before.
I've decided to walk the entire 630+ mile South West coast Path from end to end. To do it all in one go would take at least a month as most of it is fairly tough going (the total amount of climbing involved is 4x the height of Everest). Posted by GaryQQQ
So basically you're taking a week off to walk around the neighbourhood only NOT delivering? :-) Only kidding, had a look at topo and the walk/views etc. look AWESOME! The reason I ask is I've done quite a few LDW's, WHW, SUW, Pennine, and TMB. Also, an ex army/climbing mate, who now lives in Spain, has persuaded me to do the "Way of St. James" next year. BTW sorry to hijack thread. OH and ya just had to mention Everest! ;-(
This afternoon carried on in the exactly same fashion as the rest of the week; I spent my time taking a beating from variance in Bounty Hunter tournaments. Once again I couldn’t win a flip. Twice I busted with flopped top set. My only relief from the pain came in a couple of STT successes.
In the evening things finally looked up. I entered another two Bounty Hunters and managed to cash in both. These becoming my first cashes in bounty tournaments for a whole week. They were only min-cashes, but even so still very welcome all after a barren run. At long last I managed to win a few aipf races and did better at making big holds and swerving draws.
For at least an hour I was plagued by terrible lag in both games and found myself timing out frequently. In one particularly frustrating spot I timed out with pocket 88 in the Mini when I wanted to open raise. I would have flopped a set of course, then I then watched as two opponents who did see the flop went all-in against each other with hands I would have beaten. Maybe they would have folded to my open and I wouldn’t have won many chips, we’ll never know. The lag only eased when the fields got fairly small. I busted from both games with no regrets in standard shove spots.
Ultimately it was a losing day, though I finish feeling pretty positive after the deep runs in the evening.
A reluctant fold this afternoon. When player b pushes all-in over my river raise I can’t possibly call. He’s shoving into two opponents here and is stronger than a straight virtually every single time. The very best I can hope for here is a chop, but I feel even that is highly unlikely. Aces full are the most likely holding here, probably AJ or AQ.
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalanceb Small blind 40.00 40.00 7660.00 K9HANDLER Big blind 80.00 120.00 1240.00 Your hole cards Q K R Call 80.00 200.00 4465.00 stingerbil Fold GaryQQQ Call 80.00 280.00 4130.00 erchie Fold b Call 40.00 320.00 7620.00 K9HANDLER Check Flop J Q A b Check K9HANDLER Check R Bet 80.00 400.00 4385.00 GaryQQQ Call 80.00 480.00 4050.00 b Call 80.00 560.00 7540.00 K9HANDLER Fold Turn A b Check R Bet 80.00 640.00 4305.00 GaryQQQ Call 80.00 720.00 3970.00 b Call 80.00 800.00 7460.00 River 10 b Check R Bet 160.00 960.00 4145.00 GaryQQQ Raise 400.00 1360.00 3570.00 b All-in 7460.00 8820.00 0.00 R Fold GaryQQQ Fold b Muck b Win 1760.00 1760.00 b Return 7060.00 0.00 8820.00
I only had time for two Bounty Hunter tournaments this morning. In a £3.30 I went nowhere fast. In a £5.75 I was going nicely with 23 of 85 entrants left when I picked up pocket KK on the BB. It went limp, raise to 4BB, call before the action came to me. With 10.5BB in the middle it looked like a perfect squeeze/shove spot, so I pushed all-in with my 27BB to disguise the strength of my hand. I successfully induced a call from the 4BB raiser who flipped over AJo.
Had I held I’d been have been in a great position; a top 3 stack and covering everybody at my table with the bubble looming. However, this is poker we’re talking about; the ace hit on the river, the chipleader scooped the huge pot and I was out.
Glad you put my chips to good use in the 8.05 bh. Keep up the good work and you will get to the grand soon Posted by cenachav
Cheers, unlucky to you for finding yourself the wrong side of a couple of coolers and unable to improve.
While 17th/255 was a pleasing run I'd hoped to go a little further, as always all the decent money is at the final table. Still, it was my first BH cash for a week so a welcome confidence booster if nothing else.
Keep it going gary. Curious to know how your sweat on witteles went/is going?? Posted by waller02
I was watching the live stream until about 2-00am, but then fell asleep (having been up 24.5 hours at that point including a busy day at work) and missed most of the action.
My man got 5th for $52K. It could have been better I suppose, but it also could have been worse. Obviously I was rooting for a win which would have paid four times as much as fifth. However I will get back 10x my investment, a very pleasing bink without even having to play a single hand myself.
Didn’t play much today. While mainly concentrating on paperwork jobs at lunchtime I fired up a £2.30 BH and a £3.30 DYM. In the BH I donked myself out by gambling at a wild table early with pocket 77 at a bad time, I couldn’t improve against QQ. In the DYM I ran QQ into AA and didn’t find a fold on a dry low flop.
Back at the tables in the afternoon I tried a £5.75 BH. Devoid of playable hands most of the way I somehow nursed a short-stack all the way to the late stages. With the bubble looming I coolered a guy when I flatted his button min-raise with pocket AA on the BB and only 12BB behind. Obviously I wasn’t folding post-flop no matter what. However he held KJ, so the AKJ flop was perfect for me.
Soon after I re-shoved over a 3BB all-in shortie with A9 and binked an A to crack his pocket TT. I then chipped up further and made the money by playing aggressive shallow-stack poker, picking up chips courtesy of uncalled 3-bet shoves and flop check/shoves. At this stage it’s very important to maintain fold equity. I never let my stack blind down to the point where I have only 3BB like the guy with pocket TT. Personally I prefer to start shoving wide at around the 10-12BB mark. I’d much rather flip for 20BB+ than fold down to 3BB and hope to win an 80/20 that will only get me up to 6BB if I hold anyway.
With 8 left I busted, just one flip away from getting my stack above average for the first time in the entire tournament. I 3-bet shoved pocket 33 from the BB and got a call from the opener with A9 on the button. Just like yesterday I was taken out by an ace on the river. I was playing for the win and happy to take the flip with my tournament life at risk. Once again it just wasn’t my turn to win the all-important late stages race.
I tried a quick heads-up match before logging off. In the very first hand my opponent bluff check-shoved all-in with 6-high and a gutshot on the turn. I had an easy call with top two pairs, he hit his four-outer with one card to come then snap declined a re-match. I took the RNG’s hint and quit for the day.
Didn’t play much again today, only managed to find time for 2 MTTs.
In the morning I couldn’t get anything going in a £3.30 Bounty Hunter.
I ran deeper in an afternoon £5.75, albeit nursing a short stack most of the time. I busted in my first standard flip again when I shoved 55 over a limp/caller and lost the race against KQo.
I’ve been running pretty terribly in flips since I won two MTTs on Day 164. I don’t keep count obviously, but I’d be surprised if I’ve won any more than 25% since then. It'll even out over time as it always does, so there's nothing to worry about. I'll simply to continue to play my best and wait for fortune to turn my way again.
I bricked the two morning £3.30s. A standard lost pair<overcards flip took me out of the 9-45, though to be fair I’d won an earlier flip, the losing one being my second. In the 10-45 my chances were wrecked early on by a maniac who caught a 3-outer with one card to come for nearly all my chips.
At lunch I tried a £5.75. For the third day in a row I went deepish but yet again couldn’t win those all-important shallow stack all-ins losing both involving me. My demise started with a 33<A3 button v BB aipf loss for a decent stack and a juicy head prize. The same player busted me a few orbits later with KTo />A2o aipf. I held the ace of hearts, the flop was great for me; three hearts, including 2h and without a jack or king. My opponent needed to hit one of his four outs with two cards to come and also swerve all hearts, aces and twos to win the pot. He hit on the river lol, good game. At least I had a couple of bounties to show for my efforts this time.
Some run-good finally arrived in a HU STT. My opponent (who sat down before me) didn’t show up to play. I stalled for a few minutes out of courtesy then stole the blinds and took the walkover.
I wanted to play more, but with some overdue home maintenance jobs calling my name that was me done for the day.
Today I entered three £5.75 Bounty Hunters and a couple of £2.10 HU STTs. In the first £5.75 I got nothing going and busted early. In the second, a speed tournament, I went deep but ran badly in flips again when it mattered losing AQ<33 aipf on the final table bubble then 66<KQ aipf on the final table to bust in fifth place with three spots paid
At long last a got a decent result in the third game with a second place finish, though ultimately with mixed feelings as I came so close to going one place better.
It started awfully and I found myself down to only 870 chips during level two. A stroke of luck got me back in the game; I 3-bet shoved AK aipf over a raise and made a full-house to quadruple-up off three callers. From there I ran deep by keeping it tight and aggressive. I had a particularly tough table with three tables left facing some skilled aggressive opponents, but I kept my head above water and had a more favourable draw and an above average stack when we broke to two tables.
The final table was a roller-coaster ride for me. With five left I three-bet shoved AKs over a 3x open and the villain tank-called with pocket 66. The pot would have given me a significant chip lead with four left and a juicy head-prize. An ace landed on the flop, a six landed on the river (don’t you just hate rivers sometimes!). I was left quite short but I kept my composure and fought my way back into contention.
A cooler for an unfortunate opponent during four-handed play propelled me into the chiplead. When I was on the BB with 7c4c it folded to the SB who completed with pocket 22. The flop was 6h2c5c, bottom set for my opponent and every draw in the book for me. Stacks went in after I’d made my straight on the turn and my hand held-up. I took the unfortunate villain out in the very next hand with pocket AA.
Three handed play lasted quite a while. JockBMW was next to fall in unlucky fashion. I pushed on his BB with 9hTh on the SB, a standard play when he had only 10BB left. Peter had the easiest of calls with AK, however he was all-but dead on the harshest of flops; 99T.
Heads-up play was a disaster for me. I started with a commanding lead over an inexperienced opponent but the deck wasn’t in the mood to let me close it out. The winner doubled off me when down to only 10BB with his limped 84o outdrew my K8 on an A82 flop. The turn and river were both fours. The killer hand was my A6 losing to QT with 78JA on the board and nearly all the chips in the middle. Had I swerved his four outs on the river for the gutshot victory was almost certainly mine. However it wasn’t to be and I was left with 6BB and no way back.
Ironically I won both of the far less important HU matches; the two STTs.
After a very poor run over the last ten days I’m pleased to record a reasonably profitable day despite the heads-up frustration in the Bounty Hunter. Obviously I would have snap-taken second place money at the start of the tournament, and when down to 840 chips early on even a min-cash looked extremely unlikely, so I can’t complain at the result. I'll be taking a day off poker tomorrow and will return to the tables on Saturday afternoon.
Nothing much to report today. I entered several micro-stakes MTTs but failed to cash. Most of the time was spent picking up junk and failing to make hands, whenever I did get to a showdown I nearly always had the second best hand.
Only one MTT hand was memorable; I busted two short stacks in the Mini in a 3-way aipf pot when holding AK. Though hope of a deep run evaporated in level 9 when I ran KK into AA, button v SB to be left on fumes. The same guy busted me in level 10 when I shoved my KQ into his KK, button v SB once again, mbn!
The only small successes came from a few STTs. In a (rare for me) DYM I had a brief taste of ‘god mode’. After cracking pocket AA with JTo aipf I followed it up by making quads threes on the run-out after shoving A3 into a short stack’s AQ on the bubble!
I played in three micro MTTs today and bricked them all.
I’m happy I’m playing well, there’s just not much of that all-important run-good coming my way right now. Without it you simply can’t win MTTs.
Coolers did for me in the two morning £3.30 Bounty Hunters; my flopped set running into a flopped straight to bust in the 9-45. Then I couldn’t find a way back after my flopped top two pair met another flopped straight in the 10-45 which I bubbled. In both cases I missed my outs to a full house.
In a lunchtime freezeout I was going well briefly, but failed to fade draws in some crucial pots then when getting short ran AKs into KK, again no help.
Not my day. A hand from the lunchtime freezeout. I outplay my opponent but fail to make the hold after stacks go in.
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalanceGaryQQQ Small blind 25.00 25.00 3730.00 spurs_13 Big blind 50.00 75.00 1607.50 Your hole cards A J codman30 Fold MR_D123 Fold A Raise 100.00 175.00 1786.25 GaryQQQ Raise 250.00 425.00 3480.00 spurs_13 Fold A Call 175.00 600.00 1611.25 Flop K 9 J GaryQQQ Check A Bet 300.00 900.00 1311.25 GaryQQQ Raise 795.00 1695.00 2685.00 A All-in 1311.25 3006.25 0.00 GaryQQQ Call 816.25 3822.50 1868.75 GaryQQQ Show A J A Show 6 10 Turn 2 River 7 A Win Flush to the Jack 3822.50 3822.50
It was a familiar story in my first game, a £5.75 BH. After being left with only 800 chips in level 3 due to a rivered flush under rivered flush cooler I fought hard to get myself back into contention only to then bust just 3 places from the money unable to win an aipf pot in a great spot; my pocket 77 flipping against AQ with a 1.5BB short stack holding also all-in holding KQ. I was 59/41 favourite for the side pot with one of the queens removed from the deck, but I watched my opponent find both of the other queens and an ace to make a full house to KO me and the shortie.
In my second game, a £3.30 Freezeout, I busted with AA<T7 in level 1, on reflection I feel I probably should have been able to lay it down.
I then tried a HU STT. Holding a 940-60 chip lead during level 1 I had my opponent all-in with his 64o and still behind with just one card to come. He got there and you can guess the rest. Feeling somewhat demoralised that was me done with poker for the day.
Another winning month saw my balance grow from £361.61 to £442.09. That’s an increase of £80.48 or 22.25%. Once gain volume was low, I only played on 19 of the 30 days earning a mere 361 Poker Points.
Overall I feel I didn’t run too well on most of those 19 days. However that was more than compensated for by a £5.75 Bounty Hunter win on the 15th and a second place in another on the 27th.
On reflection I’m very pleased with my June results and I’ll be happy if I can increase my bankroll by another 22% in July. However I’m yet to report a losing month, which I’m well aware could come along at any time. If it happens to be July then so be it. If it’s a result of bad runnage rather than bad play I won’t lose any sleep over it.
My goals for July are to put in a higher volume than in June and to continue to play to the best of my ability.
Comments
I've known Witteles loosely through another online poker community for a couple of years, not in person. When he offered action I jumped straight in, thought he was great value, he sold out very fast. I'm hoping for the final table at least, there are still three very short stacks still alive, but this is tournament poker so anything could happen.
Yes, you see a lot of eccentric play in those Bounty Hunters, hence they're great value over a large sample despite the 15% rake.
Closing Balance £440.75
Down £8.14 today
This afternoon carried on in the exactly same fashion as the rest of the week; I spent my time taking a beating from variance in Bounty Hunter tournaments. Once again I couldn’t win a flip. Twice I busted with flopped top set. My only relief from the pain came in a couple of STT successes.
In the evening things finally looked up. I entered another two Bounty Hunters and managed to cash in both. These becoming my first cashes in bounty tournaments for a whole week. They were only min-cashes, but even so still very welcome all after a barren run. At long last I managed to win a few aipf races and did better at making big holds and swerving draws.
For at least an hour I was plagued by terrible lag in both games and found myself timing out frequently. In one particularly frustrating spot I timed out with pocket 88 in the Mini when I wanted to open raise. I would have flopped a set of course, then I then watched as two opponents who did see the flop went all-in against each other with hands I would have beaten. Maybe they would have folded to my open and I wouldn’t have won many chips, we’ll never know. The lag only eased when the fields got fairly small. I busted from both games with no regrets in standard shove spots.
Ultimately it was a losing day, though I finish feeling pretty positive after the deep runs in the evening.
June Poker Points 244 (£2.44)
Today’s results;
8076414HNLB0.5GBPSkyPoker22/06/2013 20:15NL Hold'em £5 + £0.558/557£8.338076921HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker22/06/2013 20:05NL Hold'em £2 + £0.317/255£2.378076904HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker22/06/2013 17:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.7555/87-£3.878076653HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker22/06/2013 17:05NL Hold'em £2 + £0.317/25-£2.38078130HNL6MX,DN0.25GBPSkyPoker22/06/2013 16:41NL Hold'em £2 + £0.251/6£1.758078141HNLT,HU0.05GBPSkyPoker22/06/2013 16:08NL Hold'em £1 + £0.051/2£0.958076724HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker22/06/2013 15:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.75106/126-£5.758076567HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker22/06/2013 14:45NL Hold'em £5 + £0.7519/32-£5.758075572HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker22/06/2013 13:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.7527/109-£3.87
A reluctant fold this afternoon. When player b pushes all-in over my river raise I can’t possibly call. He’s shoving into two opponents here and is stronger than a straight virtually every single time. The very best I can hope for here is a chop, but I feel even that is highly unlikely. Aces full are the most likely holding here, probably AJ or AQ.
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalanceb Small blind 40.00 40.00 7660.00 K9HANDLER Big blind 80.00 120.00 1240.00 Your hole cards Q K R Call 80.00 200.00 4465.00 stingerbil Fold GaryQQQ Call 80.00 280.00 4130.00 erchie Fold b Call 40.00 320.00 7620.00 K9HANDLER Check Flop J Q A b Check K9HANDLER Check R Bet 80.00 400.00 4385.00 GaryQQQ Call 80.00 480.00 4050.00 b Call 80.00 560.00 7540.00 K9HANDLER Fold Turn A b Check R Bet 80.00 640.00 4305.00 GaryQQQ Call 80.00 720.00 3970.00 b Call 80.00 800.00 7460.00 River 10 b Check R Bet 160.00 960.00 4145.00 GaryQQQ Raise 400.00 1360.00 3570.00 b All-in 7460.00 8820.00 0.00 R Fold GaryQQQ Fold b Muck b Win 1760.00 1760.00 b Return 7060.00 0.00 8820.00
Closing Balance £435.48
Down £5.27 today
I only had time for two Bounty Hunter tournaments this morning. In a £3.30 I went nowhere fast. In a £5.75 I was going nicely with 23 of 85 entrants left when I picked up pocket KK on the BB. It went limp, raise to 4BB, call before the action came to me. With 10.5BB in the middle it looked like a perfect squeeze/shove spot, so I pushed all-in with my 27BB to disguise the strength of my hand. I successfully induced a call from the 4BB raiser who flipped over AJo.
Had I held I’d been have been in a great position; a top 3 stack and covering everybody at my table with the bubble looming. However, this is poker we’re talking about; the ace hit on the river, the chipleader scooped the huge pot and I was out.
June Poker Points 256 (£2.56)
Today’s results;
8081405HNLHU0.1GBPSkyPoker23/06/2013 12:57NL Hold'em £2 + £0.11/2£1.98078907HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker23/06/2013 11:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.7523/85-£3.878079214HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker23/06/2013 10:45NL Hold'em £3 + £0.355/84-£3.3
While 17th/255 was a pleasing run I'd hoped to go a little further, as always all the decent money is at the final table. Still, it was my first BH cash for a week so a welcome confidence booster if nothing else.
My man got 5th for $52K. It could have been better I suppose, but it also could have been worse. Obviously I was rooting for a win which would have paid four times as much as fifth. However I will get back 10x my investment, a very pleasing bink without even having to play a single hand myself.
Closing Balance £435.38
Down £0.10 today
Didn’t play much today. While mainly concentrating on paperwork jobs at lunchtime I fired up a £2.30 BH and a £3.30 DYM. In the BH I donked myself out by gambling at a wild table early with pocket 77 at a bad time, I couldn’t improve against QQ. In the DYM I ran QQ into AA and didn’t find a fold on a dry low flop.
Back at the tables in the afternoon I tried a £5.75 BH. Devoid of playable hands most of the way I somehow nursed a short-stack all the way to the late stages. With the bubble looming I coolered a guy when I flatted his button min-raise with pocket AA on the BB and only 12BB behind. Obviously I wasn’t folding post-flop no matter what. However he held KJ, so the AKJ flop was perfect for me.
Soon after I re-shoved over a 3BB all-in shortie with A9 and binked an A to crack his pocket TT. I then chipped up further and made the money by playing aggressive shallow-stack poker, picking up chips courtesy of uncalled 3-bet shoves and flop check/shoves. At this stage it’s very important to maintain fold equity. I never let my stack blind down to the point where I have only 3BB like the guy with pocket TT. Personally I prefer to start shoving wide at around the 10-12BB mark. I’d much rather flip for 20BB+ than fold down to 3BB and hope to win an 80/20 that will only get me up to 6BB if I hold anyway.
With 8 left I busted, just one flip away from getting my stack above average for the first time in the entire tournament. I 3-bet shoved pocket 33 from the BB and got a call from the opener with A9 on the button. Just like yesterday I was taken out by an ace on the river. I was playing for the win and happy to take the flip with my tournament life at risk. Once again it just wasn’t my turn to win the all-important late stages race.
I tried a quick heads-up match before logging off. In the very first hand my opponent bluff check-shoved all-in with 6-high and a gutshot on the turn. I had an easy call with top two pairs, he hit his four-outer with one card to come then snap declined a re-match. I took the RNG’s hint and quit for the day.
June Poker Points 271 (£2.71)
Today’s results;
8085668HNLST,HU0.1GBPSkyPoker24/06/2013 16:52NL Hold'em £2 + £0.12/2-£2.18084184HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker24/06/2013 14:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.758/63£7.68085109HNL6MX,DN0.3GBPSkyPoker24/06/2013 13:07NL Hold'em £3 + £0.36/6-£3.38083035HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker24/06/2013 12:15NL Hold'em £2 + £0.312/14-£2.3
Closing Balance £426.33
Down £9.05 today
Didn’t play much again today, only managed to find time for 2 MTTs.
In the morning I couldn’t get anything going in a £3.30 Bounty Hunter.
I ran deeper in an afternoon £5.75, albeit nursing a short stack most of the time. I busted in my first standard flip again when I shoved 55 over a limp/caller and lost the race against KQo.
I’ve been running pretty terribly in flips since I won two MTTs on Day 164. I don’t keep count obviously, but I’d be surprised if I’ve won any more than 25% since then. It'll even out over time as it always does, so there's nothing to worry about. I'll simply to continue to play my best and wait for fortune to turn my way again.
June Poker Points 282 (£2.82)
Today’s results;
8086913HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker25/06/2013 13:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.7516/67-£5.758086699HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker25/06/2013 10:45NL Hold'em £3 + £0.319/58-£3.3
Latest graph of progress;
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/43/fx3j.jpg/
Closing Balance £424.00
Down £2.33 today
Things still aren’t going my way in the MTTs.
I bricked the two morning £3.30s. A standard lost pair<overcards flip took me out of the 9-45, though to be fair I’d won an earlier flip, the losing one being my second. In the 10-45 my chances were wrecked early on by a maniac who caught a 3-outer with one card to come for nearly all my chips.
At lunch I tried a £5.75. For the third day in a row I went deepish but yet again couldn’t win those all-important shallow stack all-ins losing both involving me. My demise started with a 33<A3 button v BB aipf loss for a decent stack and a juicy head prize. The same player busted me a few orbits later with KTo />A2o aipf. I held the ace of hearts, the flop was great for me; three hearts, including 2h and without a jack or king. My opponent needed to hit one of his four outs with two cards to come and also swerve all hearts, aces and twos to win the pot. He hit on the river lol, good game. At least I had a couple of bounties to show for my efforts this time.
Some run-good finally arrived in a HU STT. My opponent (who sat down before me) didn’t show up to play. I stalled for a few minutes out of courtesy then stole the blinds and took the walkover.
I wanted to play more, but with some overdue home maintenance jobs calling my name that was me done for the day.
June Poker Points 299 (£2.99)
Today’s results;
8091770HNLHU0.25GBPSkyPoker26/06/2013 13:32NL Hold'em £5 + £0.251/2£4.758089584HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker26/06/2013 11:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.7513/59-£0.488089911HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker26/06/2013 10:45NL Hold'em £3 + £0.353/61-£3.38089652HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker26/06/2013 09:45NL Hold'em £3 + £0.328/71-£3.3
Closing Balance £461.10
Up £37.10 today
Yay, a long-overdue winning day!
Today I entered three £5.75 Bounty Hunters and a couple of £2.10 HU STTs. In the first £5.75 I got nothing going and busted early. In the second, a speed tournament, I went deep but ran badly in flips again when it mattered losing AQ<33 aipf on the final table bubble then 66<KQ aipf on the final table to bust in fifth place with three spots paid
At long last a got a decent result in the third game with a second place finish, though ultimately with mixed feelings as I came so close to going one place better.
It started awfully and I found myself down to only 870 chips during level two. A stroke of luck got me back in the game; I 3-bet shoved AK aipf over a raise and made a full-house to quadruple-up off three callers. From there I ran deep by keeping it tight and aggressive. I had a particularly tough table with three tables left facing some skilled aggressive opponents, but I kept my head above water and had a more favourable draw and an above average stack when we broke to two tables.
The final table was a roller-coaster ride for me. With five left I three-bet shoved AKs over a 3x open and the villain tank-called with pocket 66. The pot would have given me a significant chip lead with four left and a juicy head-prize. An ace landed on the flop, a six landed on the river (don’t you just hate rivers sometimes!). I was left quite short but I kept my composure and fought my way back into contention.
A cooler for an unfortunate opponent during four-handed play propelled me into the chiplead. When I was on the BB with 7c4c it folded to the SB who completed with pocket 22. The flop was 6h2c5c, bottom set for my opponent and every draw in the book for me. Stacks went in after I’d made my straight on the turn and my hand held-up. I took the unfortunate villain out in the very next hand with pocket AA.
Three handed play lasted quite a while. JockBMW was next to fall in unlucky fashion. I pushed on his BB with 9hTh on the SB, a standard play when he had only 10BB left. Peter had the easiest of calls with AK, however he was all-but dead on the harshest of flops; 99T.
Heads-up play was a disaster for me. I started with a commanding lead over an inexperienced opponent but the deck wasn’t in the mood to let me close it out. The winner doubled off me when down to only 10BB with his limped 84o outdrew my K8 on an A82 flop. The turn and river were both fours. The killer hand was my A6 losing to QT with 78JA on the board and nearly all the chips in the middle. Had I swerved his four outs on the river for the gutshot victory was almost certainly mine. However it wasn’t to be and I was left with 6BB and no way back.
Ironically I won both of the far less important HU matches; the two STTs.
After a very poor run over the last ten days I’m pleased to record a reasonably profitable day despite the heads-up frustration in the Bounty Hunter. Obviously I would have snap-taken second place money at the start of the tournament, and when down to 840 chips early on even a min-cash looked extremely unlikely, so I can’t complain at the result. I'll be taking a day off poker tomorrow and will return to the tables on Saturday afternoon.
June Poker Points 325 (£3.25)
Today’s results;
8093164HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker27/06/2013 13:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.752/57£42.928094749HNLST,HU0.1GBPSkyPoker27/06/2013 13:28NL Hold'em £2 + £0.11/2£1.98094710HNLST,HU0.1GBPSkyPoker27/06/2013 13:18NL Hold'em £2 + £0.11/2£1.98092870HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker27/06/2013 12:15NL Hold'em £5 + £0.755/20-£3.878092703HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker27/06/2013 11:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.7530/51-£5.75
A dream run-out for me, a nightmare for my opponent. Four-handed play at the Bounty Hunter final table.
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalanceB Small blind 500.00 500.00 24072.00 GaryQQQ Big blind 1000.00 1500.00 18863.00 Your hole cards 7 4 JockBMW Fold Joey120 Fold B Call 500.00 2000.00 23572.00 GaryQQQ Check Flop 6 2 5 B Bet 1000.00 3000.00 22572.00 GaryQQQ Call 1000.00 4000.00 17863.00 Turn 8 B Bet 3000.00 7000.00 19572.00 GaryQQQ Call 3000.00 10000.00 14863.00 River Q B All-in 19572.00 29572.00 0.00 GaryQQQ All-in 14863.00 44435.00 0.00 B Unmatched bet 4709.00 39726.00 4709.00 B Show 2 2 GaryQQQ Show 7 4 GaryQQQ Win Straight to the 8 39726.00 39726.00
Didn’t play
Day 178
Closing Balance £448.06
Down £13.04 today
Nothing much to report today. I entered several micro-stakes MTTs but failed to cash. Most of the time was spent picking up junk and failing to make hands, whenever I did get to a showdown I nearly always had the second best hand.
Only one MTT hand was memorable; I busted two short stacks in the Mini in a 3-way aipf pot when holding AK. Though hope of a deep run evaporated in level 9 when I ran KK into AA, button v SB to be left on fumes. The same guy busted me in level 10 when I shoved my KQ into his KK, button v SB once again, mbn!
The only small successes came from a few STTs. In a (rare for me) DYM I had a brief taste of ‘god mode’. After cracking pocket AA with JTo aipf I followed it up by making quads threes on the run-out after shoving A3 into a short stack’s AQ on the bubble!
June Poker Points 355 (£3.55)
Today’s results;
8100890HNLB0.5GBPSkyPoker29/06/2013 20:15NL Hold'em £5 + £0.5103/513-£1.748101380HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker29/06/2013 20:05NL Hold'em £2 + £0.3150/247-£2.38103045HNL6MX,DN0.25GBPSkyPoker29/06/2013 19:28NL Hold'em £2 + £0.251/6£1.758101238HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker29/06/2013 18:00NL Hold'em £2 + £0.371/146-£2.38102684HNLST,HU0.05GBPSkyPoker29/06/2013 17:52NL Hold'em £1 + £0.052/2-£1.058102588HNLST,HU0.1GBPSkyPoker29/06/2013 17:02NL Hold'em £2 + £0.11/2£1.98100912HNL 0.2GBPSkyPoker29/06/2013 16:20NL Hold'em £2 + £0.215/21-£2.28100563HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker29/06/2013 15:15NL Hold'em £2 + £0.313/26-£2.38102026HNLT,HU0.05GBPSkyPoker29/06/2013 14:04NL Hold'em £1 + £0.051/2£0.958099928HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker29/06/2013 13:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.7566/80-£5.75
Closing Balance £442.09
Down £5.97 today
I played in three micro MTTs today and bricked them all.
I’m happy I’m playing well, there’s just not much of that all-important run-good coming my way right now. Without it you simply can’t win MTTs.
Coolers did for me in the two morning £3.30 Bounty Hunters; my flopped set running into a flopped straight to bust in the 9-45. Then I couldn’t find a way back after my flopped top two pair met another flopped straight in the 10-45 which I bubbled. In both cases I missed my outs to a full house.
In a lunchtime freezeout I was going well briefly, but failed to fade draws in some crucial pots then when getting short ran AKs into KK, again no help.
June Poker Points 361 (£3.61)
Today’s results;
8104744HNL 0.3GBPSkyPoker30/06/2013 13:00NL Hold'em £3 + £0.310/31-£3.38103472HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker30/06/2013 10:45NL Hold'em £3 + £0.314/92£0.638103265HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker30/06/2013 09:45NL Hold'em £3 + £0.382/91-£3.3
Not my day. A hand from the lunchtime freezeout. I outplay my opponent but fail to make the hold after stacks go in.
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalanceGaryQQQ Small blind 25.00 25.00 3730.00 spurs_13 Big blind 50.00 75.00 1607.50 Your hole cards A J codman30 Fold MR_D123 Fold A Raise 100.00 175.00 1786.25 GaryQQQ Raise 250.00 425.00 3480.00 spurs_13 Fold A Call 175.00 600.00 1611.25 Flop K 9 J GaryQQQ Check A Bet 300.00 900.00 1311.25 GaryQQQ Raise 795.00 1695.00 2685.00 A All-in 1311.25 3006.25 0.00 GaryQQQ Call 816.25 3822.50 1868.75 GaryQQQ Show A J A Show 6 10 Turn 2 River 7 A Win Flush to the Jack 3822.50 3822.50
Closing Balance £432.87
Down £9.22 today
It was a familiar story in my first game, a £5.75 BH. After being left with only 800 chips in level 3 due to a rivered flush under rivered flush cooler I fought hard to get myself back into contention only to then bust just 3 places from the money unable to win an aipf pot in a great spot; my pocket 77 flipping against AQ with a 1.5BB short stack holding also all-in holding KQ. I was 59/41 favourite for the side pot with one of the queens removed from the deck, but I watched my opponent find both of the other queens and an ace to make a full house to KO me and the shortie.
In my second game, a £3.30 Freezeout, I busted with AA<T7 in level 1, on reflection I feel I probably should have been able to lay it down.
I then tried a HU STT. Holding a 940-60 chip lead during level 1 I had my opponent all-in with his 64o and still behind with just one card to come. He got there and you can guess the rest. Feeling somewhat demoralised that was me done with poker for the day.
June Poker Points 10
Results
8108646HNLST,HU0.15GBPSkyPoker01/07/2013 14:25NL Hold'em £3 + £0.152/2-£3.158107937HNLR0.2GBPSkyPoker01/07/2013 14:00NL Hold'em £2R + £0.215/15-£3.538106620HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker01/07/2013 11:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.7514/73-£3.87
Another winning month saw my balance grow from £361.61 to £442.09. That’s an increase of £80.48 or 22.25%. Once gain volume was low, I only played on 19 of the 30 days earning a mere 361 Poker Points.
Overall I feel I didn’t run too well on most of those 19 days. However that was more than compensated for by a £5.75 Bounty Hunter win on the 15th and a second place in another on the 27th.
On reflection I’m very pleased with my June results and I’ll be happy if I can increase my bankroll by another 22% in July. However I’m yet to report a losing month, which I’m well aware could come along at any time. If it happens to be July then so be it. If it’s a result of bad runnage rather than bad play I won’t lose any sleep over it.
My goals for July are to put in a higher volume than in June and to continue to play to the best of my ability.
Monthly results so far;
January...... £0.00.......to....... £11.52
February.... £11.52.....to.......£52.21.......+353% growth
March........£52.21......to.......£87.88.......+68% growth
April.......... £87.88......to......£256.59......+192% growth
May......... £256.59......to......£361.61.....+41% growth
June.........£361.61.......to......£442.09.....+22% growth