Well today I have only played 2 qualifying tournaments as I went to bed really late last night and I went out with the missus for a lovely steak at the Outback steakhouse tonight. The chocolate desert they have there is just wonderful and is well worth reccomending to anyone with a sweet tooth after a meal :)
Anyway the 2 tournaments I played were an $11+1 180 person turbo sngo and the $2.20 8 game tournament. I never really got going in the 8 game and went out on the third time round of playing razz when my brick magnet managed to turn itself on somehow.
The turbo which I had played before the 8 game however went much better though I have to say I was prettly lucky getting there as even though I was playing pretty tight but everytie I raised for a blind steal people were pushing all in and I was priced into call even though I knew I was behind. Thankfully every time that happened I hit and made the final table with a reasonable stack. Unfortunatly after that I went card dead again but still managed to finish a respectable 4th place for $158.40
PokerStars Tournament #105065779, No Limit Hold'em
Buy-In: $11.00/$1.00
180 players
Total Prize Pool: $1980.00
Tournament started - 2008/08/29 - 16:41:59 (ET)
Dear PizzicatoXev,
You finished the tournament in 4th place.
A $158.40 award has been credited to your Real Money account.
You earned 137.60 tournament leader points in this tournament.
Current buyin total: $50.50
Current total cashed: $235.83
Total profit: $185.33
I also played a little in some ring games and have had a decent winning day including a look in at NL .50/1 Omaha8. I bought in for $60 and hit some nice cards to take me up to $100. I hung about at that level for a bit and loosened up slightly. About 30 mins into the session my money hand walked up and smacked me in the face. I have to admit I got a bit lucky but I couldnt believe it when the guy shoved all in on me. He was a bit shell shocked when I insta called and didnt hang around afterwards...
PokerStars Game #20000610964: Omaha Hi/Lo No Limit ($0.50/$1.00) - 2008/08/29 - 20:52:09 (ET)
Table 'Mathesis V' 9-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: got job ($99.25 in chips)
Seat 2: 420ffsuit ($107.80 in chips)
Seat 3: PokerKingH ($56.90 in chips)
Seat 4: PizzicatoXev ($82.55 in chips)
Seat 5: mustafa ($87.50 in chips)
Seat 6: happycash ($98.10 in chips)
Seat 7: mannwolf ($44.60 in chips)
Seat 8: stargate1025 ($94.60 in chips)
Seat 9: krazyjaney ($99.10 in chips)
PokerKingH: posts small blind $0.50
PizzicatoXev: posts big blind $1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to PizzicatoXev [Th Kd Kc Jd]
mustafa: calls $1
happycash: folds
mannwolf: folds
stargate1025: folds
krazyjaney: folds
got job: folds
420ffsuit: folds
PokerKingH: calls $0.50
PizzicatoXev: raises $3 to $4
mustafa: calls $3
PokerKingH: calls $3
*** FLOP *** [Qc 9c Qh]
PokerKingH: bets $2
PizzicatoXev: calls $2
mustafa: folds
*** TURN *** [Qc 9c Qh] [Kh]
PokerKingH: bets $3
PizzicatoXev: raises $5 to $8
PokerKingH: raises $42.90 to $50.90 and is all-in
PizzicatoXev: calls $42.90
*** RIVER *** [Qc 9c Qh Kh] [6s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
PokerKingH: shows [4s 3s 8d Qs] (HI: three of a kind, Queens)
PizzicatoXev: shows [Th Kd Kc Jd] (HI: a full house, Kings full of Queens)
PizzicatoXev collected $114.80 from pot
No low hand qualified
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $117.80 | Rake $3
Board [Qc 9c Qh Kh 6s]
Seat 1: got job folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: 420ffsuit (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: PokerKingH (small blind) showed [4s 3s 8d Qs] and lost with HI: three of a kind, Queens
Seat 4: PizzicatoXev (big blind) showed [Th Kd Kc Jd] and won ($114.80) with HI: a full house, Kings full of Queens
Seat 5: mustafa folded on the Flop
Seat 6: happycash folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: mannwolf folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: stargate1025 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: krazyjaney folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Friday 29 August 2008
Thursday 28 August 2008
A promising start
Well I headed over to a friends tonight for a cash game and managed to make a small profit so my attention turned to Pokerstars on my arrival home in a bid to get my challenge with Hutchylad properly under way.
I played 4 qualifying tournaments for the challenge and I managed to cash in 3 of them. I played the $3.30 rebuy $40k gtd and invested a total of $9 but went out in 800th or so after the usual bad beat stories.
Here are the emails from the 3 cashes :)
PokerStars Tournament #103653601, No Limit Hold'em
Buy-In: $8.00/$0.80
1980 players
Total Prize Pool: $15840.00
Tournament started - 2008/08/28 - 20:40:00 (ET)
Dear PizzicatoXev,
You finished the tournament in 104th place.
A $22.17 award has been credited to your Real Money account.
You earned 83.62 tournament leader points in this tournament.
PokerStars Tournament #104939788, No Limit Hold'em
Buy-In: $6.00/$0.50
18 players
Total Prize Pool: $108.00
Tournament started - 2008/08/28 - 22:51:24 (ET)
Dear PizzicatoXev,
You finished the tournament in 3rd place.
A $21.60 award has been credited to your Real Money account.
You earned 30 Sit & Go Leader Board Points for the Venus Division in this tournament.
PokerStars Tournament #104939405, No Limit Hold'em
Buy-In: $11.00/$1.00
180 players
Total Prize Pool: $1980.00
Tournament started - 2008/08/28 - 22:55:02 (ET)
Dear PizzicatoXev,
You finished the tournament in 9th place.
A $33.66 award has been credited to your Real Money account.
You earned 91.73 tournament leader points in this tournament.
I consider myself unlucky not to have progressed further in all 3 of the above tournaments but thats just the way it goes sometimes. Its a promising start and I am very happy with my game at the minute so hopefully I will be able to get the challenge sewn up in short order :)
I will leave you with a HH of a particularly sick hand which the other guy in the pot took rather well considering what happened...
PokerStars Game #19978744349: Tournament #104939405, $11+$1 Hold'em No Limit - Level I (10/20) - 2008/08/28 - 22:55:02 (ET)
Table '104939405 13' 9-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: pilaa (1500 in chips)
Seat 2: JRBluff (1500 in chips)
Seat 3: PizzicatoXev (1500 in chips)
Seat 4: exxlax (1500 in chips)
Seat 5: jahenry (1500 in chips)
Seat 6: JAY CUSH (1500 in chips)
Seat 7: Memphis780 (1500 in chips)
Seat 8: idiotsuit (1500 in chips)
Seat 9: PokerLuck_AA (1500 in chips)
JRBluff: posts small blind 10
PizzicatoXev: posts big blind 20
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to PizzicatoXev [9h 4s]
exxlax: raises 40 to 60
jahenry: folds
JAY CUSH: folds
Memphis780: folds
idiotsuit: calls 60
PokerLuck_AA: folds
pilaa: calls 60
JRBluff: folds
PizzicatoXev: calls 40
*** FLOP *** [9d 9c Tc]
PizzicatoXev: checks
exxlax: checks
idiotsuit: bets 220
pilaa: folds
PizzicatoXev: raises 280 to 500
exxlax: calls 500
idiotsuit: folds
*** TURN *** [9d 9c Tc] [9s]
PizzicatoXev: checks
exxlax: bets 940 and is all-in
PizzicatoXev: calls 940 and is all-in
*** RIVER *** [9d 9c Tc 9s] [5s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
PizzicatoXev: shows [9h 4s] (four of a kind, Nines)
exxlax: shows [Td Th] (a full house, Tens full of Nines)
PizzicatoXev collected 3350 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 3350 | Rake 0
Board [9d 9c Tc 9s 5s]
Seat 1: pilaa (button) folded on the Flop
Seat 2: JRBluff (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 3: PizzicatoXev (big blind) showed [9h 4s] and won (3350) with four of a kind, Nines
Seat 4: exxlax showed [Td Th] and lost with a full house, Tens full of Nines
Seat 5: jahenry folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: JAY CUSH folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: Memphis780 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: idiotsuit folded on the Flop
Seat 9: PokerLuck_AA folded before Flop (didn't bet)
I played 4 qualifying tournaments for the challenge and I managed to cash in 3 of them. I played the $3.30 rebuy $40k gtd and invested a total of $9 but went out in 800th or so after the usual bad beat stories.
Here are the emails from the 3 cashes :)
PokerStars Tournament #103653601, No Limit Hold'em
Buy-In: $8.00/$0.80
1980 players
Total Prize Pool: $15840.00
Tournament started - 2008/08/28 - 20:40:00 (ET)
Dear PizzicatoXev,
You finished the tournament in 104th place.
A $22.17 award has been credited to your Real Money account.
You earned 83.62 tournament leader points in this tournament.
PokerStars Tournament #104939788, No Limit Hold'em
Buy-In: $6.00/$0.50
18 players
Total Prize Pool: $108.00
Tournament started - 2008/08/28 - 22:51:24 (ET)
Dear PizzicatoXev,
You finished the tournament in 3rd place.
A $21.60 award has been credited to your Real Money account.
You earned 30 Sit & Go Leader Board Points for the Venus Division in this tournament.
PokerStars Tournament #104939405, No Limit Hold'em
Buy-In: $11.00/$1.00
180 players
Total Prize Pool: $1980.00
Tournament started - 2008/08/28 - 22:55:02 (ET)
Dear PizzicatoXev,
You finished the tournament in 9th place.
A $33.66 award has been credited to your Real Money account.
You earned 91.73 tournament leader points in this tournament.
I consider myself unlucky not to have progressed further in all 3 of the above tournaments but thats just the way it goes sometimes. Its a promising start and I am very happy with my game at the minute so hopefully I will be able to get the challenge sewn up in short order :)
I will leave you with a HH of a particularly sick hand which the other guy in the pot took rather well considering what happened...
PokerStars Game #19978744349: Tournament #104939405, $11+$1 Hold'em No Limit - Level I (10/20) - 2008/08/28 - 22:55:02 (ET)
Table '104939405 13' 9-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: pilaa (1500 in chips)
Seat 2: JRBluff (1500 in chips)
Seat 3: PizzicatoXev (1500 in chips)
Seat 4: exxlax (1500 in chips)
Seat 5: jahenry (1500 in chips)
Seat 6: JAY CUSH (1500 in chips)
Seat 7: Memphis780 (1500 in chips)
Seat 8: idiotsuit (1500 in chips)
Seat 9: PokerLuck_AA (1500 in chips)
JRBluff: posts small blind 10
PizzicatoXev: posts big blind 20
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to PizzicatoXev [9h 4s]
exxlax: raises 40 to 60
jahenry: folds
JAY CUSH: folds
Memphis780: folds
idiotsuit: calls 60
PokerLuck_AA: folds
pilaa: calls 60
JRBluff: folds
PizzicatoXev: calls 40
*** FLOP *** [9d 9c Tc]
PizzicatoXev: checks
exxlax: checks
idiotsuit: bets 220
pilaa: folds
PizzicatoXev: raises 280 to 500
exxlax: calls 500
idiotsuit: folds
*** TURN *** [9d 9c Tc] [9s]
PizzicatoXev: checks
exxlax: bets 940 and is all-in
PizzicatoXev: calls 940 and is all-in
*** RIVER *** [9d 9c Tc 9s] [5s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
PizzicatoXev: shows [9h 4s] (four of a kind, Nines)
exxlax: shows [Td Th] (a full house, Tens full of Nines)
PizzicatoXev collected 3350 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 3350 | Rake 0
Board [9d 9c Tc 9s 5s]
Seat 1: pilaa (button) folded on the Flop
Seat 2: JRBluff (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 3: PizzicatoXev (big blind) showed [9h 4s] and won (3350) with four of a kind, Nines
Seat 4: exxlax showed [Td Th] and lost with a full house, Tens full of Nines
Seat 5: jahenry folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: JAY CUSH folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: Memphis780 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: idiotsuit folded on the Flop
Seat 9: PokerLuck_AA folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Omg a new update!
Well I did warn that updates to this blog may not happen as often as most. However I didnt quite expect it to be even this long before the next one...
Anyway at least I have plenty to talk about right?
To be fair there isnt that much to talk about as I have won a little and lost a little up until recently anyway. However this last week or so has had some fairly notable events which is worth a little mention.
The first thing that should be mentioned is the trip that myself and my better half took to the forum meet up at The Coachman pub in Hartford kindly hosted by Squirmy. Things started off well when I woke up in time to get the planned train into London. Of course just as the taxi was due to turn up to take us to the station my nose involuntarily started pissing out with blood. Great. So we get to the station with plenty of time to spare and get our tickets. The guy behind the counter obviously didnt want to be there and made it patently obvious to us that life is a lemon and he wanted his money back. After managing to charge us for the wrong tickets twice (on my missus card) we finally ended up with our tickets and about 6 extra reciepts showing refunds etc etc... Then we lost one of our outward tickets which after a fruitless search of the station and much complaining to the guy in the ticket counter for not giving us the ticket in the first place it turned up in the missus wallet after she had got mixed up with the reciepts and the tickets...
We eventually made it into London safe in the knowledge that we were going to have a nice relaxing journey and arrive at the pub in plenty of time for a shower and a meal with some good beer thrown in for good measure. This feeling lasted until about 30 seconds after we got into Euston station when it was announced that no trains would be running out of the station until further notice. We later found out that this was due to a freight train fire at Bletchley that locked up all of the main lines out of Euston. So after much hassle and queueing in the wrong place we managed to find out that we had to go to St Pancras (along with everyone else at Euston) and make our way north however we could from there. We got there and managed to get seats on a train going to Derby which was a lucky break in itself as within 30 seconds of us getting seats there wasnt a seat or even standing room left on ther train.
We got to Derby and had a short wait for a connecting train to Crewe. While waiting on the platform a middle aged lady collapsed and had an epileptic fit a few feet away from us but thankfully there was staff about who did all the right things and she seemed to make a full recovery before our train arrived. I was a little worried about her as I overheard her saying to the staff that she was travelling on her own and had no medication until she got home but I can only assume everything was ok with her.
Anyway we got on our train and again was lucky to get seats and in not so short order arrived at Crewe and had an uneventful wait and transfer to Hartford. I was very happy to get off the train and be able to see the pub before we had even left the station. We even managed to arrive slightly early for the game which was again pretty lucky as our journey up there had taken about an extra 3 1/2 hours over what it was supposed to be....
Anyway, enough talk about the state of Britains rail system and onto the juicy poker!
We started the Main Event with 36 people all ponying up £30 which included £5 bounty and a donation towards some food. I sat down and was greeted by Mrs Macacan, Devilmeat, my other half and people whose names I have forgotten because I suck with names at the best of times, let alone when there is alchohol involved. I immediatly went on a card rush picking up JJ, KK, AK and 88 in the first 4 hands. Unfortunatly I wasn't able to capitilise as much as I wanted to as everyone started out playing fairly tight though I did manage to take a few chips off Mrs Mac. I then went completly and utterly card dead with every time I tried to steal a pot I got re-raised... I only had 2 more hands of note on this table both of which was 33. The first time I shoved in and the guy on my right (sorry whoever you are) laid down his 55 and took down the blinds (whew) and the second time I shoved in I got called by my friend on the right who had AA. Unfortunatly for him I spiked my 3 on the flop and he failed to improve and I had a much needed double up.
Not long after I moved tables to what would eventually become the final table and took a chance with 66 against 2 shorter stacks and got annhiliated leaving my incredibly shortstacked. I then got the big blind and shoved in with Q10 against 107 which unfortunatly for me ended my tournament when he caught a straight.
On to the cash game!
I took a chance early on and shoved with AJ and got called by AK and failed to suck out, after which I tightened up and played what I consider to be fairly good poker. I got all in preflop with Mrs Mac with my 1010 vs her 77 and she caught her 7 on the river much to the enjoyment of everybody. After that everything went ok and I ended up a few quid after making some good calls mainly against Mrs Mac.
The entire night was totally top class with alchohol being brought to the tables by bar staff who should be working for model agencies (or in my mind, porn flicks) flowing freely with very little hassle.
Whoever threw up and blocked the urinal in the mens toiletmuch to Squirmy's dismay should be ashamed of themselves though, you know who you are. Be a man and admit it next time.
Online poker has been treating me well in the last week or so as well with a couple of large cashes in big MTT's on Pokerstars totalling about $2000. I have also, for the very first time, made Silver star status on Pokerstars which while it doesnt seem alot, and you dont get alot is a nice little milestone for me :)
And now for the challenge...
Hutchylad has challenged me to make $1000 in the next month purely from MTT's (either sngo or scheduled). I intend to have a good shot at this by playing mainly $11 180 person sngo and some of the larger guarantee tournaments up to an $11 buy in. My current balance is $211 and I hope to be able to show a tidy profit at the very least. Either way its gonna be fun to try :) I will be posting the results from every tournament I play on this blog and hopefully it wont look too woeful :)
See you all soon!
Anyway at least I have plenty to talk about right?
To be fair there isnt that much to talk about as I have won a little and lost a little up until recently anyway. However this last week or so has had some fairly notable events which is worth a little mention.
The first thing that should be mentioned is the trip that myself and my better half took to the forum meet up at The Coachman pub in Hartford kindly hosted by Squirmy. Things started off well when I woke up in time to get the planned train into London. Of course just as the taxi was due to turn up to take us to the station my nose involuntarily started pissing out with blood. Great. So we get to the station with plenty of time to spare and get our tickets. The guy behind the counter obviously didnt want to be there and made it patently obvious to us that life is a lemon and he wanted his money back. After managing to charge us for the wrong tickets twice (on my missus card) we finally ended up with our tickets and about 6 extra reciepts showing refunds etc etc... Then we lost one of our outward tickets which after a fruitless search of the station and much complaining to the guy in the ticket counter for not giving us the ticket in the first place it turned up in the missus wallet after she had got mixed up with the reciepts and the tickets...
We eventually made it into London safe in the knowledge that we were going to have a nice relaxing journey and arrive at the pub in plenty of time for a shower and a meal with some good beer thrown in for good measure. This feeling lasted until about 30 seconds after we got into Euston station when it was announced that no trains would be running out of the station until further notice. We later found out that this was due to a freight train fire at Bletchley that locked up all of the main lines out of Euston. So after much hassle and queueing in the wrong place we managed to find out that we had to go to St Pancras (along with everyone else at Euston) and make our way north however we could from there. We got there and managed to get seats on a train going to Derby which was a lucky break in itself as within 30 seconds of us getting seats there wasnt a seat or even standing room left on ther train.
We got to Derby and had a short wait for a connecting train to Crewe. While waiting on the platform a middle aged lady collapsed and had an epileptic fit a few feet away from us but thankfully there was staff about who did all the right things and she seemed to make a full recovery before our train arrived. I was a little worried about her as I overheard her saying to the staff that she was travelling on her own and had no medication until she got home but I can only assume everything was ok with her.
Anyway we got on our train and again was lucky to get seats and in not so short order arrived at Crewe and had an uneventful wait and transfer to Hartford. I was very happy to get off the train and be able to see the pub before we had even left the station. We even managed to arrive slightly early for the game which was again pretty lucky as our journey up there had taken about an extra 3 1/2 hours over what it was supposed to be....
Anyway, enough talk about the state of Britains rail system and onto the juicy poker!
We started the Main Event with 36 people all ponying up £30 which included £5 bounty and a donation towards some food. I sat down and was greeted by Mrs Macacan, Devilmeat, my other half and people whose names I have forgotten because I suck with names at the best of times, let alone when there is alchohol involved. I immediatly went on a card rush picking up JJ, KK, AK and 88 in the first 4 hands. Unfortunatly I wasn't able to capitilise as much as I wanted to as everyone started out playing fairly tight though I did manage to take a few chips off Mrs Mac. I then went completly and utterly card dead with every time I tried to steal a pot I got re-raised... I only had 2 more hands of note on this table both of which was 33. The first time I shoved in and the guy on my right (sorry whoever you are) laid down his 55 and took down the blinds (whew) and the second time I shoved in I got called by my friend on the right who had AA. Unfortunatly for him I spiked my 3 on the flop and he failed to improve and I had a much needed double up.
Not long after I moved tables to what would eventually become the final table and took a chance with 66 against 2 shorter stacks and got annhiliated leaving my incredibly shortstacked. I then got the big blind and shoved in with Q10 against 107 which unfortunatly for me ended my tournament when he caught a straight.
On to the cash game!
I took a chance early on and shoved with AJ and got called by AK and failed to suck out, after which I tightened up and played what I consider to be fairly good poker. I got all in preflop with Mrs Mac with my 1010 vs her 77 and she caught her 7 on the river much to the enjoyment of everybody. After that everything went ok and I ended up a few quid after making some good calls mainly against Mrs Mac.
The entire night was totally top class with alchohol being brought to the tables by bar staff who should be working for model agencies (or in my mind, porn flicks) flowing freely with very little hassle.
Whoever threw up and blocked the urinal in the mens toiletmuch to Squirmy's dismay should be ashamed of themselves though, you know who you are. Be a man and admit it next time.
Online poker has been treating me well in the last week or so as well with a couple of large cashes in big MTT's on Pokerstars totalling about $2000. I have also, for the very first time, made Silver star status on Pokerstars which while it doesnt seem alot, and you dont get alot is a nice little milestone for me :)
And now for the challenge...
Hutchylad has challenged me to make $1000 in the next month purely from MTT's (either sngo or scheduled). I intend to have a good shot at this by playing mainly $11 180 person sngo and some of the larger guarantee tournaments up to an $11 buy in. My current balance is $211 and I hope to be able to show a tidy profit at the very least. Either way its gonna be fun to try :) I will be posting the results from every tournament I play on this blog and hopefully it wont look too woeful :)
See you all soon!
Saturday 13 October 2007
A sense of community
Some of you may know that I play an online game (Everquest) which is kinda similar to Dungeons and Dragons. I have been playing the game for over 6 years and I really enjoy it. There is alot to be said for a large group of people banding together and going off to kill something against the odds and maybe having to try for months at a time to defeat a single encounter. This binds us together in a way that alot of people who do not play these types of games do not understand. The sense of community is amazing with people meeting up from all over the world in real life to party together, swop stories, share their views on the game etc etc... When someone faces adversity in their real life people will flock to show support, offer advice and do what they can to help.
Since I have joined the poker community I have seen alot of similarities between the 2 communities despite the huge size difference. In alot of ways this is surprising as within gaming people are often working together for a common goal as opposed to trying to take everyone's money. I was able to join a poker forum and recieve good advice from many people even though that there was a good possibility of me playing against them and possibly costing them money in the process. This has helped me improve my poker by leaps and bounds and people are genuinly happy to see my results improve. This is not just the case for the forums I have joined but for the vast majority of forums out there. In the same way gamers support those going through tough times poker players will get together to help someone less fortunate by holding benefit tournaments and such like and in general doing what they can.
In the same way less advanced players of the online games can download videos of people defeating encounters they are yet to beat, anyone with an internet connection can download some great video's from the top professional players that are designed to help improve your play. Alot of the same pro's also post on forums and websites, willingly giving their advice and views on hands or plays in general for no charge.
It is this spirit of people wanting to give back to the game some of what they are getting out of it that makes this the huge success that it is. There is so much more to poker than the final table of the WSOP main event and while the big pro's play their part it is only a smaller part of the whole.
Since I have joined the poker community I have seen alot of similarities between the 2 communities despite the huge size difference. In alot of ways this is surprising as within gaming people are often working together for a common goal as opposed to trying to take everyone's money. I was able to join a poker forum and recieve good advice from many people even though that there was a good possibility of me playing against them and possibly costing them money in the process. This has helped me improve my poker by leaps and bounds and people are genuinly happy to see my results improve. This is not just the case for the forums I have joined but for the vast majority of forums out there. In the same way gamers support those going through tough times poker players will get together to help someone less fortunate by holding benefit tournaments and such like and in general doing what they can.
In the same way less advanced players of the online games can download videos of people defeating encounters they are yet to beat, anyone with an internet connection can download some great video's from the top professional players that are designed to help improve your play. Alot of the same pro's also post on forums and websites, willingly giving their advice and views on hands or plays in general for no charge.
It is this spirit of people wanting to give back to the game some of what they are getting out of it that makes this the huge success that it is. There is so much more to poker than the final table of the WSOP main event and while the big pro's play their part it is only a smaller part of the whole.
Thursday 11 October 2007
Here we go...
Ok this is my first ever blog so if it isn't very interesting or it doesn't make you laugh don't start asking for your 5 minutes back...
I have been thinking of keeping a blog for a while to help track my poker 'career' (yes that was one of my funny jokes). I may slack on updating it but updates will be forthcoming...
Ok on to the serios stuff... Generally I play alot of freerolls and some low buy in tournaments when funds allow. Generally I seem to do quite well in the large field MTT's and have had some respectable cashes (largest so far being $243 in a $1R/A for second place without using any R/A).
I also try to play some cash tables occasionally but that seems to work out badly for me much more often than breaking even or actually winning. I quite often start well but it seems like its only a matter of time before I bust my profits and buy in.
As I started writing this blog I am starting a little 1euro freeze (358 reg) on the Boss network so am gonna do a little commentary on any big hands I get or don't get lol
20 mins in and have only seen 1 flop and am down to 1180 from 1500
First break and I am at 3435 chips after doubling through on the last hand before the break with a play which I was very surprised actually came off for me..
** Deal **
PizzicatoX [2h, 7h]
*** Bet Round 1 ***
taff9 Fold
poker7880 Call 150.00
tinker t Fold
extran16 Fold
Fatalis Call 150.00
Carlo351 Fold
Zeon1982 Call 150.00
vaso_al Fold
ziarek21 Fold
PizzicatoX Check
*** Flop(Board): *** : [10d, 4h, 7d]
*** Bet Round 2 ***
PizzicatoX Check
poker7880 Bet 150.00
Fatalis Fold
Zeon1982 Fold
PizzicatoX All-in 1380.00
poker7880 Call 1380.00
*** Turn(Board): *** : [10d, 4h, 7d, 4d]
*** River(Board): *** : [10d, 4h, 7d, 4d, 9h]
PizzicatoX [2h, 7h] Two pair sevens and fours Win: 3435.00
poker7880 [Ks, Qh] Pair of fours Win: 0.00
The min bet on the flop said to me that I was up against 2 over cards or a flush draw. I pushed and got lucky basically but it gives me a decent chance in the tournament still which is what counts. 119 players left, 40 get paid, blinds 100/200
Stayed solid for the next 30 mins (read folded all the shit I had) and pushed a couple of times (77 and AK) uncontested. Then I hit AK and pushed again, everyone folded. Then I hit a nice hand straight after...
***** Hand 784870326 *****
200.00/400.00 Texas Hold'em (No Limit) - 11 October 2007 17:02:18
Texas Holdem (Real/Tournament)
Seat 1: Carlo351 (4655.00)
Seat 2: Zeon1982 (6894.00)
Seat 3: vaso_al (10855.00)
Seat 4: ziarek21 (10470.00)
Seat 5: PizzicatoX (4335.00)
Seat 6: Tiger W 24 (3615.00)
Seat 7: Tagedieb (2878.00)
Seat 8: tinker t (2720.00)
Seat 9: extran16 (2905.00)
extran16 post SB 200.00
Carlo351 post BB 400.00
** Deal **
PizzicatoX [Jc, Jd]
*** Bet Round 1 ***
Zeon1982 Call 400.00
vaso_al Fold
ziarek21 Raise to 1600.00
PizzicatoX All-in 4335.00
Tiger W 24 Fold
Tagedieb Fold
tinker t Fold
extran16 Fold
Carlo351 Fold
Zeon1982 All-in 6894.00
ziarek21 Call 6894.00
*** Flop(Board): *** : [3d, 9c, 5d]
*** Turn(Board): *** : [3d, 9c, 5d, Kh]
*** River(Board): *** : [3d, 9c, 5d, Kh, 3s]
*** Showdown *** : Rake: 0.00 Total Pot: 19173.00
Carlo351 Fold Win: 0.00
Zeon1982 [6h, 6s] Two pair sixes and threes Win: 5118.00
ziarek21 [Ac, Qc] Pair of threes Win: 0.00
PizzicatoX [Jc, Jd] Two pair jacks and threes Win: 14055.00
That pot took me from half average chips to double average chips and I am looking good to cash (currently 13th out of 67 remaining) :)
JJ is being good to me today. Got dealt JJ and called a 4X raise from table chip lead. Hit top set, turn blank, river paired the board. Didn't double through but up to 20k chips now.
As I wrote the above about JJ being nice I hit JJ again (2nd time in 3 hands) after being moved tables and it stood up against a shortstack 1010... There is something weird going on I think... I havn't been sucked out on yet so it must be waiting for the bubble instead...
Second break and we are through the bubble with 36 players remaining and I am currently 3rd in chips with 37109. Only 20 people will have 10 BB (500/1000) when we restart so it could turn a bit crapshooty but we will see. My natural instinct at this point is to keep my play tight and keep my ultra tight image for the final table as I have played on several tables and with all the other chipleaders. My stats show I have seen only 14% of flops so hopefully loosening up on final table will do me alot of good, assuming I get there of course :p
Took a big pot with about 30 players left 1010 vs AK standing up. Left me with a massive chip lead. Writing this blog at the same time as playing seems to be working for me lol
15 players left and I got caught on a blind steal with 910 offsuit vs 66. I spiked the 9 on the river to eliminate another short stack.
Well I made the final table and with the chip lead :)
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b273/Pizzicato_Xev/finaltablecut.jpg
Had lost a few chips and got 66 in small blind. I pushed the mid stack limper all in and he called with AA... Crap. I flop a 6 and he is out. 4 people left and I have over half the chips in play.
One other person goes out and its 3 way. Doesn't last long as I get 1010 on the button and raise, there is a re-raise all in from someone who has been stealing quite a few blinds from me, I call and he flips A8 and the 8 on the river doesn't help him. Break starts immediatly after lol
HU: I have 402k chips, Villain (zhunter) has 137k chips
This should be an easy takedown but I have suffered far worse beats before so wish me luck :)
And it's a win for 89.50euros :)
Will probably write more on this later :) For now I am going to get a cup of tea :)
I have been thinking of keeping a blog for a while to help track my poker 'career' (yes that was one of my funny jokes). I may slack on updating it but updates will be forthcoming...
Ok on to the serios stuff... Generally I play alot of freerolls and some low buy in tournaments when funds allow. Generally I seem to do quite well in the large field MTT's and have had some respectable cashes (largest so far being $243 in a $1R/A for second place without using any R/A).
I also try to play some cash tables occasionally but that seems to work out badly for me much more often than breaking even or actually winning. I quite often start well but it seems like its only a matter of time before I bust my profits and buy in.
As I started writing this blog I am starting a little 1euro freeze (358 reg) on the Boss network so am gonna do a little commentary on any big hands I get or don't get lol
20 mins in and have only seen 1 flop and am down to 1180 from 1500
First break and I am at 3435 chips after doubling through on the last hand before the break with a play which I was very surprised actually came off for me..
** Deal **
PizzicatoX [2h, 7h]
*** Bet Round 1 ***
taff9 Fold
poker7880 Call 150.00
tinker t Fold
extran16 Fold
Fatalis Call 150.00
Carlo351 Fold
Zeon1982 Call 150.00
vaso_al Fold
ziarek21 Fold
PizzicatoX Check
*** Flop(Board): *** : [10d, 4h, 7d]
*** Bet Round 2 ***
PizzicatoX Check
poker7880 Bet 150.00
Fatalis Fold
Zeon1982 Fold
PizzicatoX All-in 1380.00
poker7880 Call 1380.00
*** Turn(Board): *** : [10d, 4h, 7d, 4d]
*** River(Board): *** : [10d, 4h, 7d, 4d, 9h]
PizzicatoX [2h, 7h] Two pair sevens and fours Win: 3435.00
poker7880 [Ks, Qh] Pair of fours Win: 0.00
The min bet on the flop said to me that I was up against 2 over cards or a flush draw. I pushed and got lucky basically but it gives me a decent chance in the tournament still which is what counts. 119 players left, 40 get paid, blinds 100/200
Stayed solid for the next 30 mins (read folded all the shit I had) and pushed a couple of times (77 and AK) uncontested. Then I hit AK and pushed again, everyone folded. Then I hit a nice hand straight after...
***** Hand 784870326 *****
200.00/400.00 Texas Hold'em (No Limit) - 11 October 2007 17:02:18
Texas Holdem (Real/Tournament)
Seat 1: Carlo351 (4655.00)
Seat 2: Zeon1982 (6894.00)
Seat 3: vaso_al (10855.00)
Seat 4: ziarek21 (10470.00)
Seat 5: PizzicatoX (4335.00)
Seat 6: Tiger W 24 (3615.00)
Seat 7: Tagedieb (2878.00)
Seat 8: tinker t (2720.00)
Seat 9: extran16 (2905.00)
extran16 post SB 200.00
Carlo351 post BB 400.00
** Deal **
PizzicatoX [Jc, Jd]
*** Bet Round 1 ***
Zeon1982 Call 400.00
vaso_al Fold
ziarek21 Raise to 1600.00
PizzicatoX All-in 4335.00
Tiger W 24 Fold
Tagedieb Fold
tinker t Fold
extran16 Fold
Carlo351 Fold
Zeon1982 All-in 6894.00
ziarek21 Call 6894.00
*** Flop(Board): *** : [3d, 9c, 5d]
*** Turn(Board): *** : [3d, 9c, 5d, Kh]
*** River(Board): *** : [3d, 9c, 5d, Kh, 3s]
*** Showdown *** : Rake: 0.00 Total Pot: 19173.00
Carlo351 Fold Win: 0.00
Zeon1982 [6h, 6s] Two pair sixes and threes Win: 5118.00
ziarek21 [Ac, Qc] Pair of threes Win: 0.00
PizzicatoX [Jc, Jd] Two pair jacks and threes Win: 14055.00
That pot took me from half average chips to double average chips and I am looking good to cash (currently 13th out of 67 remaining) :)
JJ is being good to me today. Got dealt JJ and called a 4X raise from table chip lead. Hit top set, turn blank, river paired the board. Didn't double through but up to 20k chips now.
As I wrote the above about JJ being nice I hit JJ again (2nd time in 3 hands) after being moved tables and it stood up against a shortstack 1010... There is something weird going on I think... I havn't been sucked out on yet so it must be waiting for the bubble instead...
Second break and we are through the bubble with 36 players remaining and I am currently 3rd in chips with 37109. Only 20 people will have 10 BB (500/1000) when we restart so it could turn a bit crapshooty but we will see. My natural instinct at this point is to keep my play tight and keep my ultra tight image for the final table as I have played on several tables and with all the other chipleaders. My stats show I have seen only 14% of flops so hopefully loosening up on final table will do me alot of good, assuming I get there of course :p
Took a big pot with about 30 players left 1010 vs AK standing up. Left me with a massive chip lead. Writing this blog at the same time as playing seems to be working for me lol
15 players left and I got caught on a blind steal with 910 offsuit vs 66. I spiked the 9 on the river to eliminate another short stack.
Well I made the final table and with the chip lead :)
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b273/Pizzicato_Xev/finaltablecut.jpg
Had lost a few chips and got 66 in small blind. I pushed the mid stack limper all in and he called with AA... Crap. I flop a 6 and he is out. 4 people left and I have over half the chips in play.
One other person goes out and its 3 way. Doesn't last long as I get 1010 on the button and raise, there is a re-raise all in from someone who has been stealing quite a few blinds from me, I call and he flips A8 and the 8 on the river doesn't help him. Break starts immediatly after lol
HU: I have 402k chips, Villain (zhunter) has 137k chips
This should be an easy takedown but I have suffered far worse beats before so wish me luck :)
And it's a win for 89.50euros :)
Will probably write more on this later :) For now I am going to get a cup of tea :)
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