In the 12-30pm I got lucky with a mid-stages JJ>QQ aipf suckout, though soon after that it was curtains for me when I iso-shoved pocket 88 over a limp and an 8BB shove. The UTG limper opted to call the two shoves for his stack with KTo. It’s not the best call I’ve ever seen, but it worked out well for him this time and he scooped the pot. I was left with 1/3 of a BB and went out in the next hand.
In the 4-00pm I made it to the sharp end again but managed to push my pocket 88 into KK in the blinds with the average stack at 11BB.
I’ve now used a quarter of my poker points without cashing in a NLHE tourney. Hopefully some run-good will be coming my in the near future, the clock is ticking.
I've got it all-in on a 3 spade flop in a freeroll. I overjammed top pair after a weak donk lead and he called with the 3 of spades. That's it, the 3 of effing spades!!!!!lol. Rivered flush to knock me out. Too busy laughing to bothered by it.
In the 12-30pm a promising start was cancelled out when I lost a standard AK<JJ aipf flip. After that my options were limited by a big stack to my direct right opening every single pot to 5BB. When I’d blinded down to 15BB, and with a level jump moments away that would reduce my stack to 10BB, I opted to 3-bet shove KTs from the button over one of his opens. It was the strongest hand I’d seen since the earlier AK and ahead of his 5BB open range (any two cards). My opponent snap-called with A3, I didn’t improve and was out.
I was drawn on a wild starting table in the 4-00pm, chips were flying around from the start. I sat tight until full doubles with KK then JJ put me in the top three. Unfortunately that proved to be my peak. Things started to go downhill when my raise to 7BB with QQ over 3 limpers was flatted. Without a read I had to fold my pair to a check/shove on an ace-high flop. I may have been bluffed; I saw the same villain bust a couple of levels later while making exactly the same play with air.
As the blinds escalated and we entered the shallow sacked stage of the tournament I kept it very tight when it seemed most of those at my table were playing 50%+ of hands. My stack drifted down towards average until my top pair/top kicker managed to hold against a flush draw for a tasty pot and a top 20 position with 100 left. A level later a stroke of luck maintained my position with 70 left. My A6s on the BB with 18BB behind was an easy call when a 4BB shortie shoved. I hit a 3-outer to outdraw his AK.
Unfortunately it was all to no avail. With 38 players left and 34 to be paid my pocket TT was an easy push from UTG at a 5-handed table. I got a call I wanted, however my 82/18 didn’t hold-up and I was out. If I continue to run this badly in the late stages of the freerolls while my points ebb away this challenge is going to be very difficult.
Noooooo! My exit hand on the bubble of the 4-00pm;
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalancemoses01 Small blind 1000.00 1000.00 20615.00 scary2010 Big blind 2000.00 3000.00 6850.00 Your hole cards 10 10 GaryQQQ All-in 15101.25 18101.25 0.00 Serge77 Fold scouse_red Fold moses01 All-in 20615.00 38716.25 0.00 scary2010 Fold moses01 Unmatched bet 6513.75 32202.50 6513.75 moses01 Show 9 9 GaryQQQ Show 10 10 Flop 9 J 8 Turn 4 River J moses01 Win Full House, 9s and Jacks 32202.50 38716.25
All the best in you're challenge man.Think I may have played you a few times heads up,cant remember(memory,s not what it was lol).One decent showing in a freebie and you'll be flyin.
At last! At the thirteenth attempt I won a small prize in a NLHE Freeroll!
It was only £1.15, but that was enough to double my cash balance.
My run came in the 12-30pm tournament. I enjoyed a great start; up to 3x starting stack by level 3. From there it was a rollercoaster ride. I took a big hit in the mid-stages when my pocket 99 lost to J7o aipf for a crucial 40BB pot. Despite that I survived until the steeply increasing blinds put play into push/fold territory. The luck went my way close to the bubble when my 9BB squeeze-shove with AJ on the SB doubled off an UTG limp-caller trapping with AK. With 12 players left and the average stack at only 10BB I found myself down to last place with 1BB after running A9 into 99. An immediate treble-up with A3s gave me hope, but I went out somewhat harshly a few hands later when my pocket TT was rivered by the chip-leaders K9o in a 3-way aipf pot that could have seen my stack back up to average with 9 left.
Under most circumstances I’d consider a £1.15 Freeroll return trivial, but I can assure you that when your balance is tiny and your poker points are being eaten up quickly it feels huge. Over the weekend I intend to restrict myself to the 10 point Omaha games to conserve points, I'll pass on the NLHE tournies with big fields and smaller prizes.
No joy in the Omaha freeroll today. I went out with flopped top set in a 3-way pot that was worth the chip lead. The tournament was already at the point where I could have folded my way to a 50p min-cash, but I prefer to play for a bigger prize.
I freely admit that I’m an Omaha novice. If anybody reading this knows the game reasonably well can you please comment on my decision to get it in here. I know my top set is the third nuts to AQ and Q9 and is probably facing all sorts of draws , but as I see it I have so many outs (any 7,T,J,K or A, orrunning pair) to the nut-full house that I absolutely have to get my stack in here.
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalance1234871 Small blind 300.00 300.00 30.00 GaryQQQ Big blind 600.00 900.00 13765.00 Your hole cards K K A 7 robin1979 Raise 2100.00 3000.00 39133.12 jod67 Call 2100.00 5100.00 42905.00 goldenpaul Fold leegreen11 Fold 1234871 Fold GaryQQQ Call 1500.00 6600.00 12265.00 Flop J K 10 GaryQQQ Check robin1979 Check jod67 Bet 6600.00 13200.00 36305.00 GaryQQQ All-in 12265.00 25465.00 0.00 robin1979 All-in 39133.12 64598.12 0.00 jod67 All-in 36305.00 100903.12 0.00 jod67 Unmatched bet 3771.88 97131.24 3771.88 GaryQQQ Show K K A 7 robin1979 Show 9 Q 3 9 jod67 Show Q A J 2 Turn 9 River 4 jod67 Win Straight to the Ace 97131.24 100903.12
I've worked out the answer to my own question courtesy of an online Omaha equity calculator. The player with AQ was favourite, my hand had just under 40% equity (35.29% win, 8.71% chop). The guy with Q9 was almost drawing dead.
Here's my analysis of the maths when all three of us get stacks in;
35.29% of the time I scoop the 43,125 pot, 35.29% x 43,125 = +15,218 8.71% of the time I chop the 43,125 pot 2 ways, 8.71% x (43,125/2) = +1,878 56% of the time I lose my 12,265 chip shove and bust, 56% x -12,265 = -6,868
+15,218 +1,878 -6,868 ----------- +10,228
So my shove shows a profit of 10,228 chips on average.
A fold guarantees I have 12,265 chips at the start of the next hand, a shove gives me 22,493 chips on average at the start of the next hand. After running the numbers I'm now totally satisfied that my play was correct, in fact it was a great spot that I'd jump to take every single time.
It was just the Omaha freeroll for me again today. I enjoyed an easy start and soon climbed to 3x starting stack courtesy of poor players making bad decisions.
Life got tougher in the mid-stages when a very aggressive player with a big stack got moved to my table. Moments before the add-on break I busted when I decided to go double or bust with my last 9BB in a HU pot. The action was limped to my 6K97 on the BB and the flop came down 86K. It was my intention to check/raise the flop and play for stacks, but disappointingly the villain checked back. So I chose to lead and commit my stack as a big favourite (82.5% equity) on the Q turn, but my 2 pairs and open-ender failed to hold against the big stack’s A735 when he spiked a 4 on the river to complete an unlikely gutshot.
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalancemikeky265 Small blind 300.00 300.00 1230.00 GaryQQQ Big blind 600.00 900.00 5064.55 Your hole cards 6 K 9 7 chiptayka1 Fold blue12345 Fold Killswitch Call 600.00 1500.00 17065.00 TCSMINIMAR Fold mikeky265 Fold GaryQQQ Check Flop 8 6 K GaryQQQ Check Killswitch Check Turn Q GaryQQQ Bet 750.00 2250.00 4314.55 Killswitch Call 750.00 3000.00 16315.00 River 4 GaryQQQ Bet 1500.00 4500.00 2814.55 Killswitch Raise 7500.00 12000.00 8815.00 GaryQQQ All-in 2814.55 14814.55 0.00 Killswitch Unmatched bet 3185.45 11629.10 12000.45 GaryQQQ Show 6 K 9 7 Killswitch Show A 7 3 5 Killswitch Win Straight to the 8 11629.10 23629.55
My only game today was the 12-30pm Freeroll. I finished 19th/276 (+33 rebuys/add-ons) for a small prize of 42p.
42p is very welcome, though obviously I’d have preferred more. My exit came when I found myself with Q8o on the BB with only 5BB left (half of average) before posting the blind. A big stack playing nearly every pot limped from UTG and everybody else folded. When the flop came down QT7r my chips were always going in one way or another. I check/shoved; he called and turned over T7o. I had no fold equity, so my demise had pretty much been decided once the deck had been shuffled.
A regular annoyance in these Freerolls is seeing ‘away’ players sit out all the way to the bubble. It’s frustrating when the rest of the field are waiting for them to bust only to see them keep surviving their auto all-ins with a series of unlikely doubles, trebles and chops. Three made it to the bubble today. In my opinion their cards should be killed when dealt, as they would in a live game, ie they cannot win a pot. One of the away players even went deeper than me in this tournament; he finished in 17th place for 50p with zero participation.
Day 10 Closing Balances; £2.28 Poker Points 645 No joy in the Omaha freeroll today. I went out with flopped top set in a 3-way pot that was worth the chip lead. The tournament was already at the point where I could have folded my way to a 50p min-cash, but I prefer to play for a bigger prize. I freely admit that I’m an Omaha novice. If anybody reading this knows the game reasonably well can you please comment on my decision to get it in here. I know my top set is the third nuts to AQ and Q9 and is probably facing all sorts of draws , but as I see it I have so many outs (any 7,T,J,K or A, or running pair) to the nut-full house that I absolutely have to get my stack in here. Player Action Cards Amount Pot Balance 1234871 Small blind 300.00 300.00 30.00 GaryQQQ Big blind 600.00 900.00 13765.00 Your hole cards K K A 7 robin1979 Raise 2100.00 3000.00 39133.12 jod67 Call 2100.00 5100.00 42905.00 goldenpaul Fold leegreen11 Fold 1234871 Fold GaryQQQ Call 1500.00 6600.00 12265.00 Flop J K 10 GaryQQQ Check robin1979 Check jod67 Bet 6600.00 13200.00 36305.00 GaryQQQ All-in 12265.00 25465.00 0.00 robin1979 All-in 39133.12 64598.12 0.00 jod67 All-in 36305.00 100903.12 0.00 jod67 Unmatched bet 3771.88 97131.24 3771.88 GaryQQQ Show K K A 7 robin1979 Show 9 Q 3 9 jod67 Show Q A J 2 Turn 9 River 4 jod67 Win Straight to the Ace 97131.24 100903.12 Posted by GaryQQQ
Sorry this post it is a bit after you posted this hand but I have only just seen it.
You are right to get it in here but when you hit top set you can only make full house by the board paring so your A or 7 are not outs. You also had a Q to split the pot but yeah I am getting it in here all day long.
Thanks Jonjo. My failure to recognise that A and 7 were not outs illustrates my lack of Omaha experience.
Same to you benc. Best of luck to you too. Your results so far are highly impressive, I dabble in hyper HUs for fun myself sometimes, so I know how hard it is to beat the rake by any significant amount. I'm currently grinding out a sign-up bonus on another site by playing HU Hypers, 75% of the way there at the moment.
For the second day in a row I went on a deep run in the 12-30pm Freeroll, though it ended in a somewhat disappointing 14th/263 (+67 rebuys/add-ons) placing for a 50p prize.
A huge 4-way all-in pot close to the bubble propelled me close to the top of the field. I raised to 2.3BB from UTG with pocket KK, then amazingly three players behind me shoved. I half-expected to see pocket AA, so was very happy to find myself facing KQ, KTs and 99, not a single over-card between them. Pocket 99 won the main pot with a straight, but crucially he was the shortest of those all-in by quite some way, I collected all the side-pots to move into the top 5.
My exit came in a cruel cooler when I was sitting on 10BBs, average at the time due to the very fast structure. I managed to run my pocket QQ into pocket KK at a 5-handed table. While the 50p prize is welcome and adds to my balance it was a frustrating finishing position, I had my eye on the bigger money at the final table. If I get through all the points with nothing more than a few min-cashes to show for my efforts life is going to be tough when I have to playing with the money.
Running QQ into KK at such a crucial stage may seem unfortunate, however in my eyes I did no more than lose a flip.
You may be thinking ‘a flip? QQ v KK isn’t a flip; you lost an 80/20 mate’. While that is true, I would rather take this view; if the deck is going to spit out KK and QQ when stacks are shallow then all the chips are going in no matter what. The flip occurs when the cards are dealt. I lost the flip when I was the player dealt QQ, my opponent won the flip when he was dealt the KK. Skill didn’t come into it, exactly the same thing would have happened if the pairs were dealt the other way round, it was 50/50 who got what.
amazing resolve and great steady progress Gary.. At what stage will u hit the 30pm dyms? Get to a tenner from freerolls first />? Posted by GREGHOGG
Cheers Greg.
Watch this space. My present thinking is that I might dabble in DYMs when I have 10 buyins. I know I have 10 buy-ins for 30p already, but the trouble is the 30p games all have hyper-turbo 2 minute levels. When you combine that with the 20% rake I think they're almost certainly unbeatable.
I'd rather wait until I have 10 buyins for 60p games. They run with a standard structure, which means any skill edge is much more likely to prevail, though it'll still be difficult to beat the 20% rake. The £1.15 games are even more attractive because the rake drops to 15%.
I've played in 636 £1.15 DYMs here on Sky with an ROI of 7.7%. If I can get into them with 10 buy-ins and avoid a downswing that might be good enough to get the ball rolling.
In 60p games I've run at -0.8%, undoubtedly due in part to the extra rake, also many of my games in those have been level 1 gambles in the DYM laddering competition, if I took them all seriously I should do a bit better.
Definitely best to skip the 30p's, maybe cheap, but you could easily lose however many in a row. I think if you took them seriously a player as capable as yourself would easily do well in the 60's to build your bankroll for the 1.15's, if you don't do it in the freerolls. Good luck!
Comments
Closing Balances; Cash £1.13, Poker Points 730
No change today
No Joy again from two Freerolls.
In the 12-30pm I got lucky with a mid-stages JJ>QQ aipf suckout, though soon after that it was curtains for me when I iso-shoved pocket 88 over a limp and an 8BB shove. The UTG limper opted to call the two shoves for his stack with KTo. It’s not the best call I’ve ever seen, but it worked out well for him this time and he scooped the pot. I was left with 1/3 of a BB and went out in the next hand.
In the 4-00pm I made it to the sharp end again but managed to push my pocket 88 into KK in the blinds with the average stack at 11BB.
I’ve now used a quarter of my poker points without cashing in a NLHE tourney. Hopefully some run-good will be coming my in the near future, the clock is ticking.
Closing Balances; Cash £1.13, Poker Points 680
No change today
Two freeroll blanks again.
In the 12-30pm a promising start was cancelled out when I lost a standard AK<JJ aipf flip. After that my options were limited by a big stack to my direct right opening every single pot to 5BB. When I’d blinded down to 15BB, and with a level jump moments away that would reduce my stack to 10BB, I opted to 3-bet shove KTs from the button over one of his opens. It was the strongest hand I’d seen since the earlier AK and ahead of his 5BB open range (any two cards). My opponent snap-called with A3, I didn’t improve and was out.
I was drawn on a wild starting table in the 4-00pm, chips were flying around from the start. I sat tight until full doubles with KK then JJ put me in the top three. Unfortunately that proved to be my peak. Things started to go downhill when my raise to 7BB with QQ over 3 limpers was flatted. Without a read I had to fold my pair to a check/shove on an ace-high flop. I may have been bluffed; I saw the same villain bust a couple of levels later while making exactly the same play with air.
As the blinds escalated and we entered the shallow sacked stage of the tournament I kept it very tight when it seemed most of those at my table were playing 50%+ of hands. My stack drifted down towards average until my top pair/top kicker managed to hold against a flush draw for a tasty pot and a top 20 position with 100 left. A level later a stroke of luck maintained my position with 70 left. My A6s on the BB with 18BB behind was an easy call when a 4BB shortie shoved. I hit a 3-outer to outdraw his AK.
Unfortunately it was all to no avail. With 38 players left and 34 to be paid my pocket TT was an easy push from UTG at a 5-handed table. I got a call I wanted, however my 82/18 didn’t hold-up and I was out. If I continue to run this badly in the late stages of the freerolls while my points ebb away this challenge is going to be very difficult.
Noooooo! My exit hand on the bubble of the 4-00pm;
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalancemoses01 Small blind 1000.00 1000.00 20615.00 scary2010 Big blind 2000.00 3000.00 6850.00 Your hole cards 10 10 GaryQQQ All-in 15101.25 18101.25 0.00 Serge77 Fold scouse_red Fold moses01 All-in 20615.00 38716.25 0.00 scary2010 Fold moses01 Unmatched bet 6513.75 32202.50 6513.75 moses01 Show 9 9 GaryQQQ Show 10 10 Flop 9 J 8 Turn 4 River J moses01 Win Full House, 9s and Jacks 32202.50 38716.25
keep gettin it in good mate
any ideas how long you think this ones going to take?
gl
(* *)
^
ian
Closing Balances; Cash £2.28, Poker Points 655
Up £1.15 today
At last! At the thirteenth attempt I won a small prize in a NLHE Freeroll!
It was only £1.15, but that was enough to double my cash balance.
My run came in the 12-30pm tournament. I enjoyed a great start; up to 3x starting stack by level 3. From there it was a rollercoaster ride. I took a big hit in the mid-stages when my pocket 99 lost to J7o aipf for a crucial 40BB pot. Despite that I survived until the steeply increasing blinds put play into push/fold territory. The luck went my way close to the bubble when my 9BB squeeze-shove with AJ on the SB doubled off an UTG limp-caller trapping with AK.
With 12 players left and the average stack at only 10BB I found myself down to last place with 1BB after running A9 into 99. An immediate treble-up with A3s gave me hope, but I went out somewhat harshly a few hands later when my pocket TT was rivered by the chip-leaders K9o in a 3-way aipf pot that could have seen my stack back up to average with 9 left.
Under most circumstances I’d consider a £1.15 Freeroll return trivial, but I can assure you that when your balance is tiny and your poker points are being eaten up quickly it feels huge. Over the weekend I intend to restrict myself to the 10 point Omaha games to conserve points, I'll pass on the NLHE tournies with big fields and smaller prizes.
Closing Balances; Cash £2.28, Poker Points 645
No change today
No joy in the Omaha freeroll today. I went out with flopped top set in a 3-way pot that was worth the chip lead. The tournament was already at the point where I could have folded my way to a 50p min-cash, but I prefer to play for a bigger prize.
I freely admit that I’m an Omaha novice. If anybody reading this knows the game reasonably well can you please comment on my decision to get it in here. I know my top set is the third nuts to AQ and Q9 and is probably facing all sorts of draws , but as I see it I have so many outs (any 7,T,J,K or A, or running pair) to the nut-full house that I absolutely have to get my stack in here.
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalance1234871 Small blind 300.00 300.00 30.00 GaryQQQ Big blind 600.00 900.00 13765.00 Your hole cards K K A 7 robin1979 Raise 2100.00 3000.00 39133.12 jod67 Call 2100.00 5100.00 42905.00 goldenpaul Fold leegreen11 Fold 1234871 Fold GaryQQQ Call 1500.00 6600.00 12265.00 Flop J K 10 GaryQQQ Check robin1979 Check jod67 Bet 6600.00 13200.00 36305.00 GaryQQQ All-in 12265.00 25465.00 0.00 robin1979 All-in 39133.12 64598.12 0.00 jod67 All-in 36305.00 100903.12 0.00 jod67 Unmatched bet 3771.88 97131.24 3771.88 GaryQQQ Show K K A 7 robin1979 Show 9 Q 3 9 jod67 Show Q A J 2 Turn 9 River 4 jod67 Win Straight to the Ace 97131.24 100903.12
There is a part 2 somewhere too.
https://www.skypoker.com/secure/poker/sky_lobby?action=show_static&page=poker_community_blog&plckBlogId=Blog:984622ff-5ae6-4357-a087-da942593ca53&plckController=Blog&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&userId=984622ff-5ae6-4357-a087-da942593ca53&plckPostId=Blog%3a984622ff-5ae6-4357-a087-da942593ca53Post%3a59e3d803-95b5-44f6-8b71-0a5177ebf6f0&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest
Here's my analysis of the maths when all three of us get stacks in;
35.29% of the time I scoop the 43,125 pot, 35.29% x 43,125 = +15,218
8.71% of the time I chop the 43,125 pot 2 ways, 8.71% x (43,125/2) = +1,878
56% of the time I lose my 12,265 chip shove and bust, 56% x -12,265 = -6,868
+15,218
+1,878
-6,868
-----------
+10,228
So my shove shows a profit of 10,228 chips on average.
A fold guarantees I have 12,265 chips at the start of the next hand, a shove gives me 22,493 chips on average at the start of the next hand. After running the numbers I'm now totally satisfied that my play was correct, in fact it was a great spot that I'd jump to take every single time.
Closing Balances; Cash £2.28, Poker Points 635
(no change today)
It was just the Omaha freeroll for me again today. I enjoyed an easy start and soon climbed to 3x starting stack courtesy of poor players making bad decisions.
Life got tougher in the mid-stages when a very aggressive player with a big stack got moved to my table. Moments before the add-on break I busted when I decided to go double or bust with my last 9BB in a HU pot. The action was limped to my 6K97 on the BB and the flop came down 86K. It was my intention to check/raise the flop and play for stacks, but disappointingly the villain checked back. So I chose to lead and commit my stack as a big favourite (82.5% equity) on the Q turn, but my 2 pairs and open-ender failed to hold against the big stack’s A735 when he spiked a 4 on the river to complete an unlikely gutshot.
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalancemikeky265 Small blind 300.00 300.00 1230.00 GaryQQQ Big blind 600.00 900.00 5064.55 Your hole cards 6 K 9 7 chiptayka1 Fold blue12345 Fold Killswitch Call 600.00 1500.00 17065.00 TCSMINIMAR Fold mikeky265 Fold GaryQQQ Check Flop 8 6 K GaryQQQ Check Killswitch Check Turn Q GaryQQQ Bet 750.00 2250.00 4314.55 Killswitch Call 750.00 3000.00 16315.00 River 4 GaryQQQ Bet 1500.00 4500.00 2814.55 Killswitch Raise 7500.00 12000.00 8815.00 GaryQQQ All-in 2814.55 14814.55 0.00 Killswitch Unmatched bet 3185.45 11629.10 12000.45 GaryQQQ Show 6 K 9 7 Killswitch Show A 7 3 5 Killswitch Win Straight to the 8 11629.10 23629.55
Closing Balances; Cash £2.70 Poker Points 610
Up 42p today
My only game today was the 12-30pm Freeroll. I finished 19th/276 (+33 rebuys/add-ons) for a small prize of 42p.
42p is very welcome, though obviously I’d have preferred more. My exit came when I found myself with Q8o on the BB with only 5BB left (half of average) before posting the blind. A big stack playing nearly every pot limped from UTG and everybody else folded. When the flop came down QT7r my chips were always going in one way or another. I check/shoved; he called and turned over T7o. I had no fold equity, so my demise had pretty much been decided once the deck had been shuffled.
A regular annoyance in these Freerolls is seeing ‘away’ players sit out all the way to the bubble. It’s frustrating when the rest of the field are waiting for them to bust only to see them keep surviving their auto all-ins with a series of unlikely doubles, trebles and chops. Three made it to the bubble today. In my opinion their cards should be killed when dealt, as they would in a live game, ie they cannot win a pot. One of the away players even went deeper than me in this tournament; he finished in 17th place for 50p with zero participation.
You are right to get it in here but when you hit top set you can only make full house by the board paring so your A or 7 are not outs.
You also had a Q to split the pot but yeah I am getting it in here all day long.
Same to you benc. Best of luck to you too. Your results so far are highly impressive, I dabble in hyper HUs for fun myself sometimes, so I know how hard it is to beat the rake by any significant amount. I'm currently grinding out a sign-up bonus on another site by playing HU Hypers, 75% of the way there at the moment.
Closing Balances; Cash £3.20 Poker Points 585
Up 50p today
For the second day in a row I went on a deep run in the 12-30pm Freeroll, though it ended in a somewhat disappointing 14th/263 (+67 rebuys/add-ons) placing for a 50p prize.
A huge 4-way all-in pot close to the bubble propelled me close to the top of the field. I raised to 2.3BB from UTG with pocket KK, then amazingly three players behind me shoved. I half-expected to see pocket AA, so was very happy to find myself facing KQ, KTs and 99, not a single over-card between them. Pocket 99 won the main pot with a straight, but crucially he was the shortest of those all-in by quite some way, I collected all the side-pots to move into the top 5.
My exit came in a cruel cooler when I was sitting on 10BBs, average at the time due to the very fast structure. I managed to run my pocket QQ into pocket KK at a 5-handed table. While the 50p prize is welcome and adds to my balance it was a frustrating finishing position, I had my eye on the bigger money at the final table. If I get through all the points with nothing more than a few min-cashes to show for my efforts life is going to be tough when I have to playing with the money.
Running QQ into KK at such a crucial stage may seem unfortunate, however in my eyes I did no more than lose a flip.
You may be thinking ‘a flip? QQ v KK isn’t a flip; you lost an 80/20 mate’. While that is true, I would rather take this view; if the deck is going to spit out KK and QQ when stacks are shallow then all the chips are going in no matter what. The flip occurs when the cards are dealt. I lost the flip when I was the player dealt QQ, my opponent won the flip when he was dealt the KK. Skill didn’t come into it, exactly the same thing would have happened if the pairs were dealt the other way round, it was 50/50 who got what.
'My account' as it stands today;
http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/8234/myacc1501.jpg
Watch this space. My present thinking is that I might dabble in DYMs when I have 10 buyins. I know I have 10 buy-ins for 30p already, but the trouble is the 30p games all have hyper-turbo 2 minute levels. When you combine that with the 20% rake I think they're almost certainly unbeatable.
I'd rather wait until I have 10 buyins for 60p games. They run with a standard structure, which means any skill edge is much more likely to prevail, though it'll still be difficult to beat the 20% rake. The £1.15 games are even more attractive because the rake drops to 15%.
I've played in 636 £1.15 DYMs here on Sky with an ROI of 7.7%. If I can get into them with 10 buy-ins and avoid a downswing that might be good enough to get the ball rolling.
In 60p games I've run at -0.8%, undoubtedly due in part to the extra rake, also many of my games in those have been level 1 gambles in the DYM laddering competition, if I took them all seriously I should do a bit better.