The only MTTs I entered today were two morning £3.30 BHs. Unfortunately much like yesterday most of my competitors just wanted to play aipf ‘bingo poker’ and it wasn’t my numbers that were being called. I prefer a decent game over wild gambling so I decided to give tournaments a swerve for the rest of the day.
A bit later I tried a few HU matches for fun and roughly broke even after a bad start.
I only had time for two late-morning MTTs today, and they only got half my usual attention because I was also dealing with end-of-month business paperwork. I’m happy with my play, I just didn’t see quite enough of the necessary run-good to make a decent score.
I was going great in my first tourney, a speed £5.75. I’d coolered several opponents andwith the sharp end looming I was sitting second in chips with 4 head-prizes to my name. Then an untimely dose of run-bad cost me most of my stack. My open on the button with AQ was flatted by the SB with KQ. He bluff re-raised my c-bet with a gut-shot on the ATx flop. You can guess the rest. Failing to fade the draw was the difference between a runaway chiplead with another head-prize and the very short stack I ended up with. Next up was a £3.30 Freezeout. I lost my first big flip of the tournament with 88 < AK aipf on the final table bubble to leave myself 7th/7 and never fully recovered. I fought back for a min-cash but was doomed soon after three-handed play began when I ran my ace into KJ on an AQT flop. An unavoidable cooler with all stacks very shallow.
I returned to the tables in the afternoon, though I didn’t have time for any MTTs. So I played a few STTs for fun and roughly broke even.
My session started badly and ended well. For my first hour at the tables I was totally doomswitched, losing a series of all-ins as the favourite. At that point I could feel frustration setting in and was close to quitting for the day and going off to do something else.
I decided to have one last try in two tournaments that both started at midday; a £2.20 rebuy and a £3.30 freezeout. Just like the last time I played it the rebuy was very soft. I won it in comfort again with my usual 3 buy-ins invested (entry fee, an immediate re-buy and the add-on). On the bubble I had over 50% of the chips in play and used it to bully the short-stacks, giving myself such a lead that it would have been hard not to win. I ended up heads-up against the same player I defeated the last time I was in this (Day 201), prevailing quickly with an AJ > KT aipf hold.
A double would have been nice, however the freezeout was destined to become a near-miss. Despite spending most of the tournament as chipleader I had to settle for second place. Heads-up play was over after only a few hands. It ended with a cooler. As the preflop aggressor I turned a straight with my A2. The villain, who was defending very wide, rivered a full-house with his 63o. I could never put him on that and with preflop effective stacks only 20BB deep there was no getting away from my hand despite the paired board.
I’m pleased to see I finish the day on a new highest balance. Could have been worse, I'll take it.
Bubble abuse in the rebuy, four left with three paid. I could sense that neither the SB nor the BB wanted to be bubble-boy and they had both tightened up considerably. In a spot like this I can shove any two cards from the button profitably knowing their calling ranges are so tight I'll pick up the blinds nearly every single time.
Not my day. I took a harsh one to bust from my first tournament, a standard £5.75 Bounty Hunter. In the mid-stages my 3-bet on the button with pocket KK was met by a cold 4-bet over-shove from the player on the big blind. I was never folding and considered it very unlikely he would play aces that way. The villain binked a jack on the turn to improve to a set, bust me, scoop the 110BB pot and take the chip lead.
Returning to the tables in the afternoon I jumped in the first game going, a £2.30 Bounty Hunter. All was going well until a limper holding 33 let me see a free flop with my T3 on the big blind. The flop came down T32r. I was then busted by AQs < KTo aipf. The AQx flop looked pretty good…….the J on the river didn’t!
From there I went into a £5.25 HU match. I busted with JJ < 55 aipf. That was enough, I decided my doomswitch had been activated and quit for the day.
Hey Gary, i'm not worried about my name being left in your posts. I was surprised to see you pop up, was feeling a little frustrated at the couple of games beforehand against some incredibly odd players which probably swayed me to adapt to knowing your a good player by playing super aggro, their was a couple of interesting spots particularly when you river check raised me on a paired board not used to being put in spots like that often lol i managed to convince myself that you were 4betting light in the hand above after the previous hand where you 4bet and i tank folded, played me perfectly and obviously deserved to take that hand down, but as im sure you know these games are crazy. Good luck with progressing in the challenge and if you fancy a 5.25 find someone else to play! lol
I only had time for one game today. I was going great in a £5.75 Bounty Hunter, near the top of the field with only a quarter of the field remaining, until a short sharp two hand dose of run-bad ruined my chances. With blinds at 75/150 and holding pocket AA on the BB I put in a 3-bet to 895 over a min-raise and a call from opponents both holding around 3500 chips. Three of us played for stacks on the 6K9 flop. I faded KQ, but not A9 which turned trips. The pot was worth the chiplead and another two head-prizes, unfortunately lady luck wasn’t on my side this time.
An orbit later I called an 8BB open shove with my A9s. Despite catching a 9 I was unable to hold against the villain’s A6o which made a runner-runner flush. By now I was well below average, I fought hard but couldn’t find a way back, busting close to the bubble when I jammed 9Ts from the button into ATs on the big blind, the same guy who’d trebled-up with A9 > AA > KQ earlier.
To win a poker tournament these two things must happen; you have to play well and you need to run well. I feel I’m playing better poker than the average opponent in my games at the moment. So the ‘have to play well’ requirement is in place. However it’s much harder to run well for the three hour plus duration of a tournament, something over which none of us have any control. So I’m staying relaxed about results good or bad. As long as I continue to play to the best of my ability I know another decent score will follow when it’s my turn to enjoy that elusive run-good again.
Much of July went badly as I struggled to find much tournament late-stages run-good. However just when I was expecting to reporting my first losing month a sweet heater came out of nowhere in the last week to more than make up for earlier losses. Highlight was my second £5.75 Bounty Hunter win of this challenge on July 23rd, this being my second biggest bink so far.
Volume remains low, I took 6 days off and only earned 448 Poker Points, though that's up from the 361 earned in June. Considering I haven't been playing too much I'm very happy with progress to date. Volume will probably remain low through August and September.
No joy today. I played a few low stakes MTTs without any success. Theme of the day was chipping up reasonably well in early levels only to get outdrawn later when stacks grew shallow.
I’m happy with my play, but when the cards aren’t falling your way good results simply aren’t going to happen. I try to avoid turning this diary into a bad-beat bore so I won’t prattle on about individual hands, suffice to say that apart from one exception where I sucked out in the Mini the deck decided to give me a bashing in all-in situations. I was good at getting my chips in ahead, not so good at making holds.
Nice to see you on the tables earlier Gary. Sorry if I came across as slightly ignorant but I was concentrating on other tables. All the best and keep up the good work mate. Posted by waller02
You didn't at all, I was distracted much of the time too.
Same to you, you're playing well, the results will come.
Nothing happening again, drew blanks in three MTTs. I unwisely joined in the bingo play in the first and donked myself out with pair < pair aipf early in level 1, a rare lapse of patience for me. In the second and third games I played more sensibly but promising starts came to grief when I was outdrawn in all-in spots as the favourite.
With visitors staying here I’m unlikely to play poker again until Wednesday.
I’m pleased to see The Premiership MTT promotion running at the moment. Unfortunately it’s no use for me or anybody else who cannot play in the evening so I won't be participating. August Poker Points 47 Today’s results;
I think this thread is fantastic so far, Don't get to hung up on hitting £1000 as what you have done so far is absolutely brilliant. You've hit £500 that is an amazing achievement on its own.
Stop and think, how many members reading this would love to turn 1000 points into £100, or even £50, but you're at £500. Yes focus on the goal if you wan to, but reognise what you have done so far. Not hitting £1000 does not equal failure.
I think this thread is fantastic so far, Don't get to hung up on hitting £1000 as what you have done so far is absolutely brilliant. You've hit £500 that is an amazing achievement on its own. Stop and think, how many members reading this would love to turn 1000 points into £100, or even £50, but you're at £500. Yes focus on the goal if you wan to, but reognise what you have done so far. Not hitting £1000 does not equal failure. Posted by OHIMGOOD
Thanks very much OMG.
Yep, on reflection £0 to £500 is a cool achievement and I'm very proud. However my goal is £1,000. I'm no mastermind, but 'I've started so I'll finish' and I won't rest until I get there.
The most interesting part of this challenge was seeing if I could run up a working bankroll from the 1,000 starting points. That was done a long time ago, eventual success is now a lock. When I start something I like to see it through. So no matter what happens I will maintain the diary to the very end, whether it takes another 2 months or another 2 years.
I'm very busy with family stuff at the moment and only had time for one game today.
Went pretty deep in a lunchtime £5.75 BH despite picking up nothing stronger than pocket TT and AK once each. But it was in vain. Close to the bubble with all stacks getting shallow I opened with A9s from my 25BB stack and was flatted by two players including a calling station on the big blind who held A3. An unwise call considering his stack being somewhat shorter than mine, but it’s exactly what I want when I hold a dominating hand. The board ran-out 9 high, unfortunately the villain chased and caught a gut-shot, getting there when he had only 400 chips left. What more can you do? That left me on fumes and I was eliminated soon after.
For the first time until Saturday I managed to play my usual volume today, however I found things still aren’t going my way for the most part.
I ran deepish in the first four MTTs entered but crashed n’ burnt each time short of the money. It was all standard MTT stuff; my opponents draws getting there, mine not getting there, finding myself the wrong side of big coolers, failing to hold when ahead in big 60/40 all-ins, etc.
At the fifth attempt I finally made the money in a £5.75 Bounty Hunter, though ultimately it was destined to end as an anti-climax. Solid tight/aggressive ABC poker and two flip wins (one of which earned my only head-prize) took me to the bubble where I found myself uncomfortable at the table of a hyper-maniac. This guy already had 10 head-prizes under his belt. A few hands after arriving I watched him raise/call with 85o and bust a 3-bet shove from an unfortunate victim holding JJ. Despite the bubble I decided to play for my stack with AT when he 5x opened on my big blind in the knowledge my hand was miles ahead of his any two cards open/call range. My hand held against his A4o and the double gave me enough chips to make the final table, though annoyingly the maniac was drawn on my immediate left.
My exit in fifth came when I jammed 13BB with KQs from the SB over a button limp. As expected the maniac made the call and the limper folded. His 78o flopped top pair to take the lead and turned a flush just to make sure. Ironically after my bust I watched as he then spectacularly donked off his entire runaway chiplead in just one orbit to finish fourth.
Results have been disappointing so far in August. Despite that I’m happy I’m playing well, which is the most important thing. As long as I continue to do so I’m confident upward progress will resume sooner or later.
It feels nice to report a small winning day after a pretty dire week, however I was left in no doubt I’m still running terribly at the sharp end of MTTs.
All I entered were two £5.75 Bounty Hunters and a DYM. I bricked the first tournament and doubled in the DYM. In the second tournament I feel I played every hand to the best of my ability and gave myself every chance of a decent score, though unfortunately I had to settle for a min-cash with just one head prize courtesy of another cruel beat; my 3-bet shove from the BB with pocket QQ failing to hold against the button’s open with 77. When my opponent turned an open-ender I just knew it was coming.
Skill can only take you so far in an MTT, good luck is also mandatory if you're going to be the winner. This hand is a perfect example; the villain went on to get first place and tasty three-figure score. Not once all day did I win a pot when my chips went in as the underdog.
My £4.88 July Rewards payment was credited today. As usual Friday will be a day off. I’ll be back on Saturday hoping a little bit of weekend run-good will come my way.
No luck for me all afternoon. I got my stack in in some good spots only to find I’m still running insanely badly when in all-in and called situations with one or more cards to come.
My only cash of the day came from a runner-up finish in a Main Event direct satellite that awarded just one seat. The winner was leading a charmed life; he managed to win four times as a 30/70 underdog in aipf pots at the final table, three of them against me. Whenever I enter a satellite with 3 minute levels I regret the decision as soon it deteriorates into a wild shove-fest many places from the bubble. In my opinion skill edges are negated so much it would be hard to beat the 10% rake. Don’t forget the prize gets raked too. I’m going to avoid these in future even though I profited for my second place finish today.
In the evening I ran somewhat better for a little while. In the Mini I out-flipped Bromley023 when my 3-bet shoved pair beat her raise/call with overcards. Natalie had the misfortune to be the only player I managed to bust in four Bounty Hunter tournaments entered today. Then in a cheap deepstack I busted Waller02 in 3-bet pre blind vs blind confrontation in which we were both light. His flopped two pairs lost to my turned two pairs, an unavoidable cooler for Ryan the way the cards fell. Unfortunately in both tournaments I was unable to profit from my brief spell above average. In the Mini I squeeze-shoved KQs read-less over an UTG limper who turned over pocket AA. Despite falling into a trap this time it was a great shove spot with an auto all-in player sitting out on the big blind, no regrets there. I jammed my last 10BB with Q9 from the button into a caller with KQ on the BB. Its one-way traffic as far as outdraws are concerned for me at the moment, I failed to improve in both hands.
In the Deepstack I busted close to bubble with 88 into QQ preflop. Again no lucky three-outer came my way. I’d watched several opponents catch them against me earlier in the session. Dear RNG; I hope you’re counting, please remember I have several in the bank!
The hand in which I busted Waller02 from the deepstack. My though process is below;
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalanceGaryQQQ Small blind 75.00 75.00 4556.00 waller02 Big blind 150.00 225.00 5058.00 Your hole cards K 3 eggead Fold bckneil Fold gartcosh1 Fold notaclue2 Fold GaryQQQ Raise 300.00 525.00 4256.00 waller02 Raise 600.00 1125.00 4458.00 GaryQQQ Call 375.00 1500.00 3881.00 Flop 10 2 3 GaryQQQ Check waller02 Bet 900.00 2400.00 3558.00 GaryQQQ Call 900.00 3300.00 2981.00 Turn K GaryQQQ Check waller02 All-in 3558.00 6858.00 0.00 GaryQQQ All-in 2981.00 9839.00 0.00 waller02 Unmatched bet 577.00 9262.00 577.00 GaryQQQ Show K 3 waller02 Show 10 3 River 7 GaryQQQ Win Two Pairs, Kings and 3s 9262.00 9262.00
When folded to me my suited king is ahead of Ryan's range (any two cards), therefore a raise is my standard play. I consider Ryan to be on the tight/aggresive side, but also observant and creative. His 3-bet is somewhat scary, had it been a little bigger I would have considered folding. However I decided to call for two reasons; this was at least my third recent open raise from the small blind, having folded previously I fully expected Ryan to fight back sooner later. Also I only need to put in an extra 375 chips to play for a pot worth 1500, odds of 4/1. A suited king was close to the bottom of my calling range.
What do I put Ryan on at this stage? A wide range actually. Monsters (AK, JJ to AA) are in there obviously, but considering the meta-game factors mentioned above also any pair, any ace (suited or not), any two broadways, suited connectors, even some air are all possible.
On the flop I have bottom pair. That's pretty good as far as I'm concerned. I'm still behind pairs, but I'm now miles ahead of AK and beating many other hands in the range stated above. I expect Ryan to c-bet his entire range. Had I missed the flop completely I'd probably have folded now, however my bottom pair is definitely worthy of a call considering the range I described above. Again I have a good price, I only have to put in 900 chips to try and win a pot of 3300 (3.67/1), I can still win the pot if he gives up on the turn or if I improve.
On the turn I expect Ryan to be more honest and probably give-up with most of his range that has missed, particularly small pairs, ace-high and worse. However I catch a dream card. I'm now also beating all premium pairs (except the very unlikely KK), AK is in terrible shape. There's no way I'm folding now.
When stacks go in it turns out to be an unfortunate cooler for Ryan. I have no criticism of his light 3-bet and small c-bet. If I were to offer any advice it would be to make his pre-flop 3-bigger when bluffing, his best outcome at that point is a fold from me. I considered the price offered too attractive to consider folding considering the range I assigned him.
Day 217 Didn’t play Day 218 Closing Balance £517.70 Down £12.96 today No luck for me all afternoon. I got my stack in in some good spots only to find I’m still running insanely badly when in all-in and called situations with one or more cards to come. My only cash of the day came from a runner-up finish in a Main Event direct satellite that awarded just one seat. The winner was leading a charmed life; he managed to win four times as a 30/70 underdog in aipf pots at the final table, three of them against me. Whenever I enter a satellite with 3 minute levels I regret the decision as soon it deteriorates into a wild shove-fest many places from the bubble. In my opinion skill edges are negated so much it would be hard to beat the 10% rake. Don’t forget the prize gets raked too. I’m going to avoid these in future even though I profited for my second place finish today. In the evening I ran somewhat better for a little while. In the Mini I out-flipped Bromley023 when my 3-bet shoved pair beat her raise/call with overcards. Natalie had the misfortune to be the only player I managed to bust in four Bounty Hunter tournaments entered today. Then in a cheap deepstack I busted Waller02 in 3-bet pre blind vs blind confrontation in which we were both light. His flopped two pairs lost to my turned two pairs, an unavoidable cooler for Ryan the way the cards fell. Unfortunately in both tournaments I was unable to profit from my brief spell above average. In the Mini I squeeze-shoved KQs read-less over an UTG limper who turned over pocket AA. Despite falling into a trap this time it was a great shove spot with an auto all-in player sitting out on the big blind, no regrets there. I jammed my last 10BB with Q9 from the button into a caller with KQ on the BB. Its one-way traffic as far as outdraws are concerned for me at the moment, I failed to improve in both hands. In the Deepstack I busted close to bubble with 88 into QQ preflop. Again no lucky three-outer came my way. I’d watched several opponents catch them against me earlier in the session. Dear RNG; I hope you’re counting, please remember I have several in the bank! August Poker Points 147 (£1.47) Today’s results; (to follow) The hand in which I busted Waller02 from the deepstack. My though process is below; Player Action Cards Amount Pot Balance GaryQQQ Small blind 75.00 75.00 4556.00 waller02 Big blind 150.00 225.00 5058.00 Your hole cards K 3 eggead Fold bckneil Fold gartcosh1 Fold notaclue2 Fold GaryQQQ Raise 300.00 525.00 4256.00 waller02 Raise 600.00 1125.00 4458.00 GaryQQQ Call 375.00 1500.00 3881.00 Flop 10 2 3 GaryQQQ Check waller02 Bet 900.00 2400.00 3558.00 GaryQQQ Call 900.00 3300.00 2981.00 Turn K GaryQQQ Check waller02 All-in 3558.00 6858.00 0.00 GaryQQQ All-in 2981.00 9839.00 0.00 waller02 Unmatched bet 577.00 9262.00 577.00 GaryQQQ Show K 3 waller02 Show 10 3 River 7 GaryQQQ Win Two Pairs, Kings and 3s 9262.00 9262.00 When folded to me my suited king is ahead of Ryan's range (any two cards), therefore a raise is my standard play. I consider Ryan to be on the tight/aggresive side, but also observant and creative. His 3-bet is somewhat scary, had it been a little bigger I would have considered folding. However I decided to call for two reasons; this was at least my third recent open raise from the small blind, having folded previously I fully expected Ryan to fight back sooner later. Also I only need to put in an extra 375 chips to play for a pot worth 1500, odds of 4/1. A suited king was close to the bottom of my calling range. What do I put Ryan on at this stage? A wide range actually. Monsters (AK, JJ to AA) are in there obviously, but considering the meta-game factors mentioned above also any pair, any ace (suited or not), any two broadways, suited connectors, even some air are all possible. On the flop I have bottom pair. That's pretty good as far as I'm concerned. I'm still behind pairs, but I'm now miles ahead of AK and beating many other hands in the range stated above. I expect Ryan to c-bet his entire range. Had I missed the flop completely I'd probably have folded now, however my bottom pair is definitely worthy of a call considering the range I described above. Again I have a good price, I only have to put in 900 chips to try and win a pot of 3300 (3.67/1), I can still win the pot if he gives up on the turn or if I improve. On the turn I expect Ryan to be more honest and probably give-up with most of his range that has missed, particularly small pairs, ace-high and worse. However I catch a dream card. I'm now also beating all premium pairs (except the very unlikely KK), AK is in terrible shape. There's no way I'm folding now. When stacks go in it turns out to be an unfortunate cooler for Ryan. I have no criticism of his light 3-bet and small c-bet. If I were to offer any advice it would be to make his pre-flop 3-bigger when bluffing, his best outcome at that point is a fold from me. I considered the price offered too attractive to consider folding considering the range I assigned him. Posted by GaryQQQ
I was surprised with what you turned up with but on reflection I agree with everything you have said. My 3 bet is too small and pretty much invites the call. On the flop, you have the best hand here a lot of the time. The turn was just nasty. I pretty much snap closed the table on my exit as I was on the receiving end of 2 coolers/beats in the space of 2 mins and to say I was frustrated is an understatement. Once I had taken a minute or two to calm down I reopened your table to wish you luck..........you are one of players/people who I have huge respect for and I was slightly disappointed with myself for not losing with a bit more grace!!!
At the end of the day it was your aggressive play that created this outcome so you deserved to win. Best of luck with the rest of your challenge mate.
It’s just not happening for me at the moment. Another losing day, still pretty much doomswitch when all-in with cards to come.
I started with the two morning £3.30 Bounty Hunters. I enjoyed a bright start in the 9-45am with two early heads and the chiplead. But it didn’t last long. I got donked by a maniac with my AQ<J3o aipf, then busted when my flopped set failed to hold against a straight draw.
In the 10-45 I found myself down to 270 chips after only the fourth hand of the tournament. I got all-in on the turn holding 33 with 234Qr on the board. The villain held pocket KK, he hit a two-outer on the river. I somehow survived another hour and fought back to 3.5K but was unable to pull off a miracle comeback.
In an afternoon £2.30 I enjoyed a spell as chipleader again, then crashed and burned again in a short space of time. To start my raise with AT was flatted by calling station holding AK, the AA8 flop was an unavoidable cooler. Soon after that I ran my straight into the nut straight. I open jammed my last 8BB with QJ and couldn’t beat a caller with 65o.
In the evening I played an £11 DYM, carefully table-selecting a soft table. On the bubble I ran AKs into pocket aces.
Despite poor results so far in August I'm totally relaxed about this challenge. I know I'm playing well and that the current mini downswing is due to standard MTT variance alone. I've seen it all several times before and know it won't last forever. If I thought I was playing badly I'd have something to be concerned about. I'm not concerned.
First for me today was a lunchtime £5.75 Bounty Hunter. I enjoyed a bright start when a big hold, albeit with massive equity, won me two head-prizes and a 5.5K stack in level 2. Unfortunately it was short-lived again. I was one card away from my third head-prize and another 3.5K chips when an all-in opponent caught a three-outer on the river. I busted soon after in a spot in which I should have folded. My flopped top pair on a J54r flop came second best against 45o for a pot that included an all-in shortie’s head-prize and some big pre-flop bets.
My second tournament of the day was a £2.20 Rebuy. I spent the first 30 minutes with the chiplead, but never really recovered after doubling up a player with AA<KJs. He turned a diamond flush. I held the ace of diamonds and couldn’t get away. Again I was disappointed to exit due to bad play on my part; an unwise 3-bet shove into a pot with huge overlay failing to get a fold from the chipleaders 88, I held 44.
The third and final tournament saved my day with runner-up finish in a £5.75 Speed Bounty Hunter. At long last a big dose of run-good came my way. I ran like a dream on the way to heads-up including winning a huge pot and eliminating two opponents with two tables left with AK > 44 > 33 aipf. At my starting table I sucked-out after playing a hand awfully to double off an opponent holding AK with my K8 on a king-high flop. At the final table I made a standard shove from the SB into a short stack on the BB with my T8o. He called with AA, I won with a flush. I couldn’t see it through to the end though. The hand that effectively ended it was my 3-bet shoved 77 < QQ aipf, an unavoidable cooler in an aggressive heads-up match with shallow stacks. I got my last 5BB in good but it was over when the winner flop trips.
Although it’s a much needed winning day I’m actually pretty disappointed with myself. I know full well I made stupid plays today in at least three crucial hands. Most days when I log-off I’m cool with results good or bad, happy in the knowledge that I played to the best of my ability. Today I feel I only turned a profit because I got lucky after playing badly. I’m going to have a stern word with myself and make a pledge to play better poker tomorrow!
OK, I’ve been moaning about running badly when all-in and called with cards to come so far in August. Well, I have to be honest; that changed spectacularly in the £5.75 Speed BH today when I sucked-out twice big time. In this hand T8o is a standard open-shove when folded to me with effective stacks at only 10BB. I expect the villain to have a tight calling range so I’ll pick up the blinds much of the time. Even when called I have equity, also in this tournament you also have to factor in the villains head-prize, he'd eliminated 6 opponents and it made the pot worth much more valuable than just laddering one place and taking his chips. As you see I make a huge suck-out to win, not that that means my play was incorrect. It was a terrible beat for the villain and I feel bad for him/her. However at the same time I feel absolutely no guilt whatsoever about one of these going my way having been on the receiving end much more often than I’d like lately.
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalanceGaryQQQ Small blind 400.00 400.00 29730.00 * Big blind 800.00 1200.00 8080.00 Your hole cards 10 8 CJ111 Fold SevenDue16 Fold GaryQQQ All-in 29730.00 30930.00 0.00 * All-in 8080.00 39010.00 0.00 GaryQQQ Unmatched bet 21250.00 17760.00 21250.00 GaryQQQ Show 10 8 * Show A A Flop 3 K 9 Turn 2 River 7 GaryQQQ Win Flush to the King 17760.00 39010.00
Comments
Closing Balance £554.65
Down £6.20 today
The only MTTs I entered today were two morning £3.30 BHs. Unfortunately much like yesterday most of my competitors just wanted to play aipf ‘bingo poker’ and it wasn’t my numbers that were being called. I prefer a decent game over wild gambling so I decided to give tournaments a swerve for the rest of the day.
A bit later I tried a few HU matches for fun and roughly broke even after a bad start.
July Poker Points 386 (£3.86)
Today’s results;
8192469HNLST,HU0.25GBPSkyPoker28/07/2013 14:16NL Hold'em £5 + £0.251/2£4.758192484HNLST,HU0.25GBPSkyPoker28/07/2013 14:11NL Hold'em £5 + £0.251/2£4.758192447HNLST,HU0.25GBPSkyPoker28/07/2013 14:02NL Hold'em £5 + £0.252/2-£5.258192404HNLHU0.1GBPSkyPoker28/07/2013 13:55NL Hold'em £2 + £0.12/2-£2.18192406HNLST,HU0.05GBPSkyPoker28/07/2013 13:46NL Hold'em £1 + £0.052/2-£1.058190406HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker28/07/2013 10:45NL Hold'em £3 + £0.377/104-£3.38191752HNLHU0.1GBPSkyPoker28/07/2013 09:50NL Hold'em £2 + £0.12/2-£2.18190197HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker28/07/2013 09:45NL Hold'em £3 + £0.317/84-£1.9
Eyes down; put your stack in, close your eyes and hope for the best. I saw plenty of ‘bingo poker’ at my tables today.
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalance Small blind 15.00 15.00 657.50 Big blind 30.00 45.00 2397.50 Your hole cards 9 5 Fold Raise 90.00 135.00 4525.00 Call 90.00 225.00 1200.00 LB438 Fold All-in 657.50 882.50 0.00 Call 642.50 1525.00 1755.00 All-in 4525.00 6050.00 0.00 All-in 1200.00 7250.00 0.00 All-in 1755.00 9005.00 0.00 Unmatched bet 2187.50 6817.50 2187.50 Show A Q Show 9 8 Show 3 A Show K Q Flop 5 4 7 Turn 6 River 3 Win Straight to the 9 6817.50 6817.50
Closing Balance £564.58
Up £9.93 today
I only had time for two late-morning MTTs today, and they only got half my usual attention because I was also dealing with end-of-month business paperwork. I’m happy with my play, I just didn’t see quite enough of the necessary run-good to make a decent score.
I was going great in my first tourney, a speed £5.75. I’d coolered several opponents and with the sharp end looming I was sitting second in chips with 4 head-prizes to my name. Then an untimely dose of run-bad cost me most of my stack. My open on the button with AQ was flatted by the SB with KQ. He bluff re-raised my c-bet with a gut-shot on the ATx flop. You can guess the rest. Failing to fade the draw was the difference between a runaway chiplead with another head-prize and the very short stack I ended up with.
Next up was a £3.30 Freezeout. I lost my first big flip of the tournament with 88 < AK aipf on the final table bubble to leave myself 7th/7 and never fully recovered. I fought back for a min-cash but was doomed soon after three-handed play began when I ran my ace into KJ on an AQT flop. An unavoidable cooler with all stacks very shallow.
I returned to the tables in the afternoon, though I didn’t have time for any MTTs. So I played a few STTs for fun and roughly broke even.
July Poker Points 407 (£4.07)
Today’s results;
8195907HNL6MX,DN0.5GBPSkyPoker29/07/2013 17:14NL Hold'em £5 + £0.51/6£4.58195860HNLST,HU0.15GBPSkyPoker29/07/2013 16:41NL Hold'em £3 + £0.152/2-£3.158195676HNL6MX,DN0.25GBPSkyPoker29/07/2013 16:10NL Hold'em £2 + £0.251/6£1.758195641HNLHU0.1GBPSkyPoker29/07/2013 15:54NL Hold'em £2 + £0.12/2-£2.18194702HNL 0.3GBPSkyPoker29/07/2013 12:00NL Hold'em £3 + £0.33/16£6.78193937HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker29/07/2013 11:15NL Hold'em £5 + £0.7512/33£2.23
Closing Balance £575.73
Up £11.85 today
My session started badly and ended well. For my first hour at the tables I was totally doomswitched, losing a series of all-ins as the favourite. At that point I could feel frustration setting in and was close to quitting for the day and going off to do something else.
I decided to have one last try in two tournaments that both started at midday; a £2.20 rebuy and a £3.30 freezeout. Just like the last time I played it the rebuy was very soft. I won it in comfort again with my usual 3 buy-ins invested (entry fee, an immediate re-buy and the add-on). On the bubble I had over 50% of the chips in play and used it to bully the short-stacks, giving myself such a lead that it would have been hard not to win. I ended up heads-up against the same player I defeated the last time I was in this (Day 201), prevailing quickly with an AJ > KT aipf hold.
A double would have been nice, however the freezeout was destined to become a near-miss. Despite spending most of the tournament as chipleader I had to settle for second place. Heads-up play was over after only a few hands. It ended with a cooler. As the preflop aggressor I turned a straight with my A2. The villain, who was defending very wide, rivered a full-house with his 63o. I could never put him on that and with preflop effective stacks only 20BB deep there was no getting away from my hand despite the paired board.
I’m pleased to see I finish the day on a new highest balance. Could have been worse, I'll take it.
July Poker Points 430 (£4.30)
Today’s results;
8198493HNLST,HU0.05GBPSkyPoker30/07/2013 12:04NL Hold'em £0.5 + £0.052/2-£0.558197896HNL 0.3GBPSkyPoker30/07/2013 12:00NL Hold'em £3 + £0.32/21£15.68197897HNLR0.2GBPSkyPoker30/07/2013 12:00NL Hold'em £2R + £0.21/10£11.88198472HNLST,HU0.1GBPSkyPoker30/07/2013 11:54NL Hold'em £2 + £0.12/2-£2.18198329HNLST,HU0.1GBPSkyPoker30/07/2013 11:37NL Hold'em £2 + £0.12/2-£2.18196423HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker30/07/2013 11:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.7560/72-£5.758198418HNLST,HU0.05GBPSkyPoker30/07/2013 11:17NL Hold'em £1 + £0.051/2£0.958196777HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker30/07/2013 10:45NL Hold'em £3 + £0.361/78-£3.3
Bubble abuse in the rebuy, four left with three paid. I could sense that neither the SB nor the BB wanted to be bubble-boy and they had both tightened up considerably. In a spot like this I can shove any two cards from the button profitably knowing their calling ranges are so tight I'll pick up the blinds nearly every single time.
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalance Small blind 150.00 150.00 3930.00 Big blind 300.00 450.00 3550.00 Your hole cards 4 2 Fold GaryQQQ All-in 19365.00 19815.00 0.00 Fold Fold GaryQQQ Muck GaryQQQ Win 750.00 750.00 GaryQQQ Return 19065.00 0.00 19815.00
Closing Balance £562.23
Down £13.50 today
Not my day.
I took a harsh one to bust from my first tournament, a standard £5.75 Bounty Hunter. In the mid-stages my 3-bet on the button with pocket KK was met by a cold 4-bet over-shove from the player on the big blind. I was never folding and considered it very unlikely he would play aces that way. The villain binked a jack on the turn to improve to a set, bust me, scoop the 110BB pot and take the chip lead.
Returning to the tables in the afternoon I jumped in the first game going, a £2.30 Bounty Hunter. All was going well until a limper holding 33 let me see a free flop with my T3 on the big blind. The flop came down T32r. I was then busted by AQs < KTo aipf. The AQx flop looked pretty good…….the J on the river didn’t!
From there I went into a £5.25 HU match. I busted with JJ < 55 aipf. That was enough, I decided my doomswitch had been activated and quit for the day.
July Poker Points 448 (£4.48)
Today’s results;
8202332HNLT,HU0.25GBPSkyPoker31/07/2013 15:01NL Hold'em £5 + £0.252/2-£5.258202264HNLST,HU0.05GBPSkyPoker31/07/2013 14:49NL Hold'em £1 + £0.052/2-£1.058200706HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker31/07/2013 14:45NL Hold'em £2 + £0.310/12-£2.38202012HNLST,HU0.05GBPSkyPoker31/07/2013 13:00NL Hold'em £1 + £0.051/2£0.958199839HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker31/07/2013 11:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.7529/67-£5.758201854HNLT,HU0.05GBPSkyPoker31/07/2013 11:27NL Hold'em £1 + £0.051/2£0.958201846HNLST,HU0.05GBPSkyPoker31/07/2013 11:22NL Hold'em £1 + £0.052/2-£1.05
Not my day. £5.75 Bounty Hunter exit;
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalanceTrojan1904 Small blind 40.00 40.00 7540.00 * Big blind 80.00 120.00 6880.00 Your hole cards K K Hoyzer Call 80.00 200.00 3555.00 josh58411 Raise 160.00 360.00 4000.00 sainthelen Fold GaryQQQ Raise 475.00 835.00 3812.50 Trojan1904 Fold * All-in 6880.00 7715.00 0.00 Hoyzer Fold josh58411 Fold GaryQQQ All-in 3812.50 11527.50 0.00 * Unmatched bet 2672.50 8855.00 2672.50 * Show J J GaryQQQ Show K K Flop 7 5 9 Turn J River 3 * Win Three Jacks 8855.00 11527.50
£5.25 Heads-up exit;
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalanceGaryQQQ Small blind 15.00 15.00 765.00 * Big blind 30.00 45.00 1190.00 Your hole cards J J GaryQQQ Raise 45.00 90.00 720.00 * Raise 120.00 210.00 1070.00 GaryQQQ Raise 300.00 510.00 420.00 * All-in 1070.00 1580.00 0.00 GaryQQQ All-in 420.00 2000.00 0.00 * Unmatched bet 440.00 1560.00 440.00 GaryQQQ Show J J *Show 5 5 Flop 5 9 2 Turn 10 River 9 * Win Full House, 5s and 9s 1560.00 2000.00
Closing Balance £564.46
Up £2.23 today
I only had time for one game today. I was going great in a £5.75 Bounty Hunter, near the top of the field with only a quarter of the field remaining, until a short sharp two hand dose of run-bad ruined my chances. With blinds at 75/150 and holding pocket AA on the BB I put in a 3-bet to 895 over a min-raise and a call from opponents both holding around 3500 chips. Three of us played for stacks on the 6K9 flop. I faded KQ, but not A9 which turned trips. The pot was worth the chiplead and another two head-prizes, unfortunately lady luck wasn’t on my side this time.
An orbit later I called an 8BB open shove with my A9s. Despite catching a 9 I was unable to hold against the villain’s A6o which made a runner-runner flush. By now I was well below average, I fought hard but couldn’t find a way back, busting close to the bubble when I jammed 9Ts from the button into ATs on the big blind, the same guy who’d trebled-up with A9 > AA > KQ earlier.
To win a poker tournament these two things must happen; you have to play well and you need to run well. I feel I’m playing better poker than the average opponent in my games at the moment. So the ‘have to play well’ requirement is in place. However it’s much harder to run well for the three hour plus duration of a tournament, something over which none of us have any control. So I’m staying relaxed about results good or bad. As long as I continue to play to the best of my ability I know another decent score will follow when it’s my turn to enjoy that elusive run-good again.
August Poker Points 8
Today’s results;
8203731HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker01/08/2013 13:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.7513/67£2.23
Much of July went badly as I struggled to find much tournament late-stages run-good. However just when I was expecting to reporting my first losing month a sweet heater came out of nowhere in the last week to more than make up for earlier losses. Highlight was my second £5.75 Bounty Hunter win of this challenge on July 23rd, this being my second biggest bink so far.
Volume remains low, I took 6 days off and only earned 448 Poker Points, though that's up from the 361 earned in June. Considering I haven't been playing too much I'm very happy with progress to date. Volume will probably remain low through August and September.
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
July...........£442.09......to......£562.23.....+27% growth
Didn’t play
Day 211
Closing Balance £544.47
Down £19.99 today
No joy today. I played a few low stakes MTTs without any success. Theme of the day was chipping up reasonably well in early levels only to get outdrawn later when stacks grew shallow.
I’m happy with my play, but when the cards aren’t falling your way good results simply aren’t going to happen. I try to avoid turning this diary into a bad-beat bore so I won’t prattle on about individual hands, suffice to say that apart from one exception where I sucked out in the Mini the deck decided to give me a bashing in all-in situations. I was good at getting my chips in ahead, not so good at making holds.
August Poker Points 31
Today’s results;
8211990HNLSAT0.3GBPSkyPoker03/08/2013 17:35NL Hold'em £3.3 + £0.313/21-£3.68211428HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker03/08/2013 16:45NL Hold'em £5 + £0.758/32-£3.878211057HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker03/08/2013 15:15NL Hold'em £2 + £0.37/21-£2.3
All the best and keep up the good work mate.
Same to you, you're playing well, the results will come.
Closing Balance £533.25
Down £11.22 today
Nothing happening again, drew blanks in three MTTs. I unwisely joined in the bingo play in the first and donked myself out with pair < pair aipf early in level 1, a rare lapse of patience for me. In the second and third games I played more sensibly but promising starts came to grief when I was outdrawn in all-in spots as the favourite.
With visitors staying here I’m unlikely to play poker again until Wednesday.
I’m pleased to see The Premiership MTT promotion running at the moment. Unfortunately it’s no use for me or anybody else who cannot play in the evening so I won't be participating.
August Poker Points 47
Today’s results;
8213826HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker04/08/2013 10:45NL Hold'em £3 + £0.358/91-£2.178213696HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker04/08/2013 10:15NL Hold'em £5 + £0.7535/40-£5.758213557HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker04/08/2013 09:45NL Hold'em £3 + £0.387/87-£3.3
Stop and think, how many members reading this would love to turn 1000 points into £100, or even £50, but you're at £500. Yes focus on the goal if you wan to, but reognise what you have done so far. Not hitting £1000 does not equal failure.
Yep, on reflection £0 to £500 is a cool achievement and I'm very proud. However my goal is £1,000. I'm no mastermind, but 'I've started so I'll finish' and I won't rest until I get there.
The most interesting part of this challenge was seeing if I could run up a working bankroll from the 1,000 starting points. That was done a long time ago, eventual success is now a lock. When I start something I like to see it through. So no matter what happens I will maintain the diary to the very end, whether it takes another 2 months or another 2 years.
Didn’t play
Day 214
Closing Balance £527.50
Down £5.75 today
I'm very busy with family stuff at the moment and only had time for one game today.
Went pretty deep in a lunchtime £5.75 BH despite picking up nothing stronger than pocket TT and AK once each. But it was in vain. Close to the bubble with all stacks getting shallow I opened with A9s from my 25BB stack and was flatted by two players including a calling station on the big blind who held A3. An unwise call considering his stack being somewhat shorter than mine, but it’s exactly what I want when I hold a dominating hand. The board ran-out 9 high, unfortunately the villain chased and caught a gut-shot, getting there when he had only 400 chips left. What more can you do? That left me on fumes and I was eliminated soon after.
August Poker Points 55
Today’s results;
8220629HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker06/08/2013 12:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.7517/63-£5.75
Closing Balance £523.61
Down £3.81 today
For the first time until Saturday I managed to play my usual volume today, however I found things still aren’t going my way for the most part.
I ran deepish in the first four MTTs entered but crashed n’ burnt each time short of the money. It was all standard MTT stuff; my opponents draws getting there, mine not getting there, finding myself the wrong side of big coolers, failing to hold when ahead in big 60/40 all-ins, etc.
At the fifth attempt I finally made the money in a £5.75 Bounty Hunter, though ultimately it was destined to end as an anti-climax. Solid tight/aggressive ABC poker and two flip wins (one of which earned my only head-prize) took me to the bubble where I found myself uncomfortable at the table of a hyper-maniac. This guy already had 10 head-prizes under his belt. A few hands after arriving I watched him raise/call with 85o and bust a 3-bet shove from an unfortunate victim holding JJ. Despite the bubble I decided to play for my stack with AT when he 5x opened on my big blind in the knowledge my hand was miles ahead of his any two cards open/call range. My hand held against his A4o and the double gave me enough chips to make the final table, though annoyingly the maniac was drawn on my immediate left.
My exit in fifth came when I jammed 13BB with KQs from the SB over a button limp. As expected the maniac made the call and the limper folded. His 78o flopped top pair to take the lead and turned a flush just to make sure. Ironically after my bust I watched as he then spectacularly donked off his entire runaway chiplead in just one orbit to finish fourth.
Results have been disappointing so far in August. Despite that I’m happy I’m playing well, which is the most important thing. As long as I continue to do so I’m confident upward progress will resume sooner or later.August Poker Points 85
Today’s results;
8224364HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker07/08/2013 13:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.755/73£11.28224074HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker07/08/2013 12:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.7519/52-£5.758224006HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker07/08/2013 12:15NL Hold'em £5 + £0.756/21-£3.878224148HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker07/08/2013 10:45NL Hold'em £3 + £0.318/67-£3.38223885HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker07/08/2013 09:45NL Hold'em £3 + £0.316/69-£2.17
Closing Balance £530.66
Up £7.05 today
It feels nice to report a small winning day after a pretty dire week, however I was left in no doubt I’m still running terribly at the sharp end of MTTs.
All I entered were two £5.75 Bounty Hunters and a DYM. I bricked the first tournament and doubled in the DYM. In the second tournament I feel I played every hand to the best of my ability and gave myself every chance of a decent score, though unfortunately I had to settle for a min-cash with just one head prize courtesy of another cruel beat; my 3-bet shove from the BB with pocket QQ failing to hold against the button’s open with 77. When my opponent turned an open-ender I just knew it was coming.
Skill can only take you so far in an MTT, good luck is also mandatory if you're going to be the winner. This hand is a perfect example; the villain went on to get first place and tasty three-figure score. Not once all day did I win a pot when my chips went in as the underdog.
My £4.88 July Rewards payment was credited today. As usual Friday will be a day off. I’ll be back on Saturday hoping a little bit of weekend run-good will come my way.
August Poker Points 106 (£1.06)
Today’s results;
8229747HNL6MX,DN0.5GBPSkyPoker08/08/2013 12:46NL Hold'em £5 + £0.51/6£4.58227356HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker08/08/2013 12:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.759/72£3.828227075HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker08/08/2013 11:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.7545/66-£5.75
Variance at work. The villain in this hand went on the win £106.29 for first place, I got £9.57 for ninth.
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalancerockmount Small blind 300.00 300.00 12437.52 GaryQQQ Big blind 600.00 900.00 10374.98 Your hole cards Q Q powerfull1 Fold jimHFX Fold Raise 1800.00 2700.00 9716.68 rockmount Fold GaryQQQ All-in 10374.98 13074.98 0.00 Call 9174.98 22249.96 541.70 GaryQQQ Show Q Q Show 7 7 Flop 6 2 4 Turn 5 River 3 Win Straight to the 7 22249.96 22791.66
Didn’t play
Day 218
Closing Balance £517.70
Down £12.96 today
No luck for me all afternoon. I got my stack in in some good spots only to find I’m still running insanely badly when in all-in and called situations with one or more cards to come.
My only cash of the day came from a runner-up finish in a Main Event direct satellite that awarded just one seat. The winner was leading a charmed life; he managed to win four times as a 30/70 underdog in aipf pots at the final table, three of them against me. Whenever I enter a satellite with 3 minute levels I regret the decision as soon it deteriorates into a wild shove-fest many places from the bubble. In my opinion skill edges are negated so much it would be hard to beat the 10% rake. Don’t forget the prize gets raked too. I’m going to avoid these in future even though I profited for my second place finish today.
In the evening I ran somewhat better for a little while. In the Mini I out-flipped Bromley023 when my 3-bet shoved pair beat her raise/call with overcards. Natalie had the misfortune to be the only player I managed to bust in four Bounty Hunter tournaments entered today. Then in a cheap deepstack I busted Waller02 in 3-bet pre blind vs blind confrontation in which we were both light. His flopped two pairs lost to my turned two pairs, an unavoidable cooler for Ryan the way the cards fell. Unfortunately in both tournaments I was unable to profit from my brief spell above average. In the Mini I squeeze-shoved KQs read-less over an UTG limper who turned over pocket AA. Despite falling into a trap this time it was a great shove spot with an auto all-in player sitting out on the big blind, no regrets there. I jammed my last 10BB with Q9 from the button into a caller with KQ on the BB. Its one-way traffic as far as outdraws are concerned for me at the moment, I failed to improve in both hands.
In the Deepstack I busted close to bubble with 88 into QQ preflop. Again no lucky three-outer came my way. I’d watched several opponents catch them against me earlier in the session. Dear RNG; I hope you’re counting, please remember I have several in the bank!
August Poker Points 147 (£1.47)
Today’s results;
8235811HNLB0.5GBPSkyPoker10/08/2013 20:15NL Hold'em £5 + £0.5120/498-£3.168235254HNL 0.2GBPSkyPoker10/08/2013 19:15NL Hold'em £2 + £0.216/89-£2.28236147HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker10/08/2013 18:00NL Hold'em £2 + £0.363/141-£2.38237607HNLST,HU0.05GBPSkyPoker10/08/2013 17:45NL Hold'em £1 + £0.051/2£0.958235863HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker10/08/2013 16:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.7531/70-£5.758236458HNLSAT0.6GBPSkyPoker10/08/2013 16:10NL Hold'em £6.6 + £0.62/8£12.68236079HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker10/08/2013 15:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.7571/107-£5.758236494HNLSAT0.16GBPSkyPoker10/08/2013 15:10NL Hold'em £1.44 + £0.167/23-£1.68235864HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker10/08/2013 14:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.7589/122-£5.75
The hand in which I busted Waller02 from the deepstack. My though process is below;
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalanceGaryQQQ Small blind 75.00 75.00 4556.00 waller02 Big blind 150.00 225.00 5058.00 Your hole cards K 3 eggead Fold bckneil Fold gartcosh1 Fold notaclue2 Fold GaryQQQ Raise 300.00 525.00 4256.00 waller02 Raise 600.00 1125.00 4458.00 GaryQQQ Call 375.00 1500.00 3881.00 Flop 10 2 3 GaryQQQ Check waller02 Bet 900.00 2400.00 3558.00 GaryQQQ Call 900.00 3300.00 2981.00 Turn K GaryQQQ Check waller02 All-in 3558.00 6858.00 0.00 GaryQQQ All-in 2981.00 9839.00 0.00 waller02 Unmatched bet 577.00 9262.00 577.00 GaryQQQ Show K 3 waller02 Show 10 3 River 7 GaryQQQ Win Two Pairs, Kings and 3s 9262.00 9262.00
When folded to me my suited king is ahead of Ryan's range (any two cards), therefore a raise is my standard play. I consider Ryan to be on the tight/aggresive side, but also observant and creative. His 3-bet is somewhat scary, had it been a little bigger I would have considered folding. However I decided to call for two reasons; this was at least my third recent open raise from the small blind, having folded previously I fully expected Ryan to fight back sooner later. Also I only need to put in an extra 375 chips to play for a pot worth 1500, odds of 4/1. A suited king was close to the bottom of my calling range.
What do I put Ryan on at this stage? A wide range actually. Monsters (AK, JJ to AA) are in there obviously, but considering the meta-game factors mentioned above also any pair, any ace (suited or not), any two broadways, suited connectors, even some air are all possible.
On the flop I have bottom pair. That's pretty good as far as I'm concerned. I'm still behind pairs, but I'm now miles ahead of AK and beating many other hands in the range stated above. I expect Ryan to c-bet his entire range. Had I missed the flop completely I'd probably have folded now, however my bottom pair is definitely worthy of a call considering the range I described above. Again I have a good price, I only have to put in 900 chips to try and win a pot of 3300 (3.67/1), I can still win the pot if he gives up on the turn or if I improve.
On the turn I expect Ryan to be more honest and probably give-up with most of his range that has missed, particularly small pairs, ace-high and worse. However I catch a dream card. I'm now also beating all premium pairs (except the very unlikely KK), AK is in terrible shape. There's no way I'm folding now.
When stacks go in it turns out to be an unfortunate cooler for Ryan. I have no criticism of his light 3-bet and small c-bet. If I were to offer any advice it would be to make his pre-flop 3-bigger when bluffing, his best outcome at that point is a fold from me. I considered the price offered too attractive to consider folding considering the range I assigned him.
At the end of the day it was your aggressive play that created this outcome so you deserved to win. Best of luck with the rest of your challenge mate.
Closing Balance £501.56
Down £16.14 today
It’s just not happening for me at the moment. Another losing day, still pretty much doomswitch when all-in with cards to come.
I started with the two morning £3.30 Bounty Hunters. I enjoyed a bright start in the 9-45am with two early heads and the chiplead. But it didn’t last long. I got donked by a maniac with my AQ<J3o aipf, then busted when my flopped set failed to hold against a straight draw.
In the 10-45 I found myself down to 270 chips after only the fourth hand of the tournament. I got all-in on the turn holding 33 with 234Qr on the board. The villain held pocket KK, he hit a two-outer on the river. I somehow survived another hour and fought back to 3.5K but was unable to pull off a miracle comeback.
In an afternoon £2.30 I enjoyed a spell as chipleader again, then crashed and burned again in a short space of time. To start my raise with AT was flatted by calling station holding AK, the AA8 flop was an unavoidable cooler. Soon after that I ran my straight into the nut straight. I open jammed my last 8BB with QJ and couldn’t beat a caller with 65o.
In the evening I played an £11 DYM, carefully table-selecting a soft table. On the bubble I ran AKs into pocket aces.
August Poker Points 168 (£1.68)Despite poor results so far in August I'm totally relaxed about this challenge. I know I'm playing well and that the current mini downswing is due to standard MTT variance alone. I've seen it all several times before and know it won't last forever. If I thought I was playing badly I'd have something to be concerned about. I'm not concerned.
Today’s results;
8241094HNL6MX,DN1.0GBPSkyPoker11/08/2013 19:44NL Hold'em £10 + £14/6-£118238673HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker11/08/2013 14:15NL Hold'em £2 + £0.314/33-£0.88238273HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker11/08/2013 10:45NL Hold'em £3 + £0.335/90-£3.38238061HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker11/08/2013 09:45NL Hold'em £3 + £0.338/80-£1.04
Still running bad. On the receiving end of many like this, none coming back the other way.
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalanceallinmikey Small blind 10.00 10.00 1910.00 * Big blind 20.00 30.00 1375.00 Your hole cards 3 3 K8LOU Fold cenachav Fold bivvster Fold GaryQQQ Raise 60.00 90.00 1605.00 allinmikey Call 50.00 140.00 1860.00 * Raise 160.00 300.00 1215.00 GaryQQQ Call 120.00 420.00 1485.00 allinmikey Call 120.00 540.00 1740.00 Flop 4 3 2 allinmikey Check * Bet 540.00 1080.00 675.00 GaryQQQ Call 540.00 1620.00 945.00 allinmikey Fold Turn Q * All-in 675.00 2295.00 0.00 GaryQQQ Call 675.00 2970.00 270.00 * Show K K GaryQQQ Show 3 3 River K * Win Three Kings 2970.00 2970.00
Closing Balance £522.32
Up £20.76 today
First for me today was a lunchtime £5.75 Bounty Hunter. I enjoyed a bright start when a big hold, albeit with massive equity, won me two head-prizes and a 5.5K stack in level 2. Unfortunately it was short-lived again. I was one card away from my third head-prize and another 3.5K chips when an all-in opponent caught a three-outer on the river. I busted soon after in a spot in which I should have folded. My flopped top pair on a J54r flop came second best against 45o for a pot that included an all-in shortie’s head-prize and some big pre-flop bets.
My second tournament of the day was a £2.20 Rebuy. I spent the first 30 minutes with the chiplead, but never really recovered after doubling up a player with AA<KJs. He turned a diamond flush. I held the ace of diamonds and couldn’t get away. Again I was disappointed to exit due to bad play on my part; an unwise 3-bet shove into a pot with huge overlay failing to get a fold from the chipleaders 88, I held 44.
The third and final tournament saved my day with runner-up finish in a £5.75 Speed Bounty Hunter. At long last a big dose of run-good came my way. I ran like a dream on the way to heads-up including winning a huge pot and eliminating two opponents with two tables left with AK > 44 > 33 aipf. At my starting table I sucked-out after playing a hand awfully to double off an opponent holding AK with my K8 on a king-high flop. At the final table I made a standard shove from the SB into a short stack on the BB with my T8o. He called with AA, I won with a flush. I couldn’t see it through to the end though. The hand that effectively ended it was my 3-bet shoved 77 < QQ aipf, an unavoidable cooler in an aggressive heads-up match with shallow stacks. I got my last 5BB in good but it was over when the winner flop trips.
Although it’s a much needed winning day I’m actually pretty disappointed with myself. I know full well I made stupid plays today in at least three crucial hands. Most days when I log-off I’m cool with results good or bad, happy in the knowledge that I played to the best of my ability. Today I feel I only turned a profit because I got lucky after playing badly. I’m going to have a stern word with myself and make a pledge to play better poker tomorrow!
August Poker Points 192 (£1.92)
Today’s results;
8242520HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker12/08/2013 15:45NL Hold'em £5 + £0.752/31£31.558242614HNLR0.2GBPSkyPoker12/08/2013 14:00NL Hold'em £2R + £0.210/15-£8.808241414HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker12/08/2013 12:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.7552/75-£1.99
OK, I’ve been moaning about running badly when all-in and called with cards to come so far in August. Well, I have to be honest; that changed spectacularly in the £5.75 Speed BH today when I sucked-out twice big time. In this hand T8o is a standard open-shove when folded to me with effective stacks at only 10BB. I expect the villain to have a tight calling range so I’ll pick up the blinds much of the time. Even when called I have equity, also in this tournament you also have to factor in the villains head-prize, he'd eliminated 6 opponents and it made the pot worth much more valuable than just laddering one place and taking his chips. As you see I make a huge suck-out to win, not that that means my play was incorrect. It was a terrible beat for the villain and I feel bad for him/her. However at the same time I feel absolutely no guilt whatsoever about one of these going my way having been on the receiving end much more often than I’d like lately.
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalanceGaryQQQ Small blind 400.00 400.00 29730.00 * Big blind 800.00 1200.00 8080.00 Your hole cards 10 8 CJ111 Fold SevenDue16 Fold GaryQQQ All-in 29730.00 30930.00 0.00 * All-in 8080.00 39010.00 0.00 GaryQQQ Unmatched bet 21250.00 17760.00 21250.00 GaryQQQ Show 10 8 * Show A A Flop 3 K 9 Turn 2 River 7 GaryQQQ Win Flush to the King 17760.00 39010.00