Another Final Table

I really wish I had more time to play tournaments. I'm sure I win more money from them in the long run than I do ring games. After Alex went to bed, I joined a $7.70 PL Hold'em tournment. I did well throughout the entire game and was able to reach the final table. I was THE short stack though, so I had to work hard to keep in the game. I was finally eliminated in 7th (out of 191) when my TT ran into KTo, the King spiked on the river and I received a pay day of $46. Oh well, since it was a PL tourney, even at final table, it was only 3 hours into the tournament.

Windsor Trip

Rob and I went to Windsor on Saturday to meet up with a few people from the Talking Poker forum and to play a little poker. Invigilator's post here pretty much says it all. But there are a few posts after that add some opinions, so if you want to read the whole thread click here.

I had a great time, it's always great to meet new people and I hope we are able to meet up again sometime.

TP Open

Ok, so the TP open was played on Wed night. Just a $5 private tourney on Stars set up by TP himself. But he had a few bounties for the tournament. First out, got their buy-in back. Going out with AA got you cash; winning at showdown with the hammer, busting TP and top 3 finishers also won extra money.

There were 35 people total and I was running great. I usually do well in these anyway, but it's nice to sit top 5 for most of the game. I was able to win the 72o bounty, I played it nice and passively, had to make sure it went to showdown.


PokerStars Tournament game, buy-in $5.00+0.50, Level I $10/$20 No Limit, 8 players
Hand History Converted at http://www.talkingpoker.com/hh

SB: T$1440
BB: T$1440
UTG: T$1910
UTG+1: T$1500
MP1: T$1350
MP2: T$1470
CO: T$1670
HERO (Button): T$2720

SB posts Small Blind T$10
BB posts Big Blind T$20

Pre-flop: 2c 7s (T$30)
UTG calls T$20
UTG+1 folds
MP1 folds
MP2 folds
CO folds
HERO calls T$20
SB folds
BB checks

Flop: 3c 8c 7d ($70)
BB checks
UTG bets T$60
HERO calls T$60
BB calls T$60

Turn: 3c 8c 7d 2h (T$250)
BB checks
UTG bets T$140
HERO calls T$140
BB folds

River: 3c 8c 7d 2h Qs (T$530)
UTG bets T$220
HERO calls T$220

UTG shows 9c 5c
HERO wins T$970 with two pair Sevens and Deuces

It was $20 for that bounty, and I also got a $10 bounty for placing 2nd, then the 2nd place pay out of $42 was quite nice as well. So for a fun game with a few friends from the forum turned out to be quite profitable. I always like that.

I Need to Make a Post

There was a TalkingPoker open on Wednesday that I played in and I need to post the details of how I did, but I'm just not finding the time. July is actually a busy month. I figured I would make this post to remind me to make a real post when I have time.

Finally Some Points

It was poker night again at our place last night. It was a very small turnout, only 9 played. It turned out that most of our regulars had other plans that day, a trip to Jamaica, a Stag and Doe and a White Stripes concert were the main culprits.

As you can tell from the title, I finally made some more league points. I earned a kill for taking out Mike C and was able to finish in 2nd. I'm still only 5th overall in the league though.

The first 3 people out were done before the first orbit was done, none of them even got a ch out.ance to deal. The fourth was shortly after that. Then it was five, for a loooooong time. It wasn't until about the 200/400 blind level or maybe the 150/300 level before anyone else went

I was short most of the game, early on I called Mike down with middle pair, knowing he was capable of betting a weaker hand, turned out he had top pair. I didn't hit too many hands for a while after that. I lost a lot more chips to Tim when I had trips on the turn and a boat on the river, unfortunately I had the J in my hand and he had the Q and the board was QJxJQ. I knew he had probably had the Q, but I couldn't fold my boat.

I was then into push or fold mode. I pushed first with K7o and it was folded to me, next hand, UTG I have KT both of clubs and I push again. Scott looks at me funny and calls. Tim thinks about it but folds and so does the rest of the table. Scott flips his cards and has KK, oh-oh, now I know why the look. I don't remember the exact cards, but it's club, club, non-club, the turn is the another club and I crack the Kings. They are the Kiss of Death. Especially since after a bit more play, Scott is the next one to go out and he was one of the big stacks for most of the game.

Jen goes out on the money and point bubble and it's Mike C, Tim and myself. Mike had been a chip leader early, but had whittle most of his chips away by being in pretty much every pot. I bust him when he pushes on the Button. I'm in the BB with KTo and since Mike was playing every hand, he could have any two cards. When I call, he shows, 34s. When we saw the flop, it didn't look good, he hit both a straight and a flush draw, but it didn't get there. Next hand was Tim and I head's up. He had probably 90% of the chips and the blinds were 250/500. First hand I have A9s, Tim raises so I push as I need to double up to have any chance to win, he calls and shows AJo. Well, neither of us hit and Tim takes another tourney down.

There was a cash game again, but I quickly lost my five bucks with a bad call and went to bed afterwards as I have to work today. The night was fun as always and I'm looking forward to the next one.

50 FPPs

So, I decided to play in a 50FPP $1000 freeroll today. It was a limit hold'em tourney so I figured there would be a smaller field so bigger final table payout. Not that I'm the greatest at limit, but I can hold my own.

I was hitting the deck huge. If I was able to see a flop with pocket pairs, I would flop a set. There were only a couple times I didn't and it was usually when I had AA and QQ, so I didn't mind not getting the set with those hands. Also, as is typically with a lot of limit players, I was getting called down a lot with middle pair or worse.

So I grinded my way through the field, hovering around average stack until I made it to the money. Then I actually started picking up speed. My stack grew and grew and I stayed around top 10. As people were eliminated, final table looked easier and easier to get to. And I did. It's been a while for me to final table a tourney so it was a nice feeling. And people continued to be eliminated. It was finally head's up. But I had a third of his stack. I tried, but he was hitting the deck harder than me, so I finished second. I'm not complaining though, second paid $132.50. Not bad for 4 hours play and 50FPPs.

KQ is EVIL!

Another great home game last night. There were about 12 of us for the tournament. So smaller than usual but still a great turnout. I got lucky early against Mooney. I pushed with ATo on the flop with TP against him. I figured it was the only way to get him to fold the crap he usually has. When he called and flipped over his cards, he actually had me beat with two pair, A2! There was a 2 of course on the flop. Luckily by the river, a ten came. After that I basically spewed chips. I was able to make it to the final table, but I points bubbled. I really need to make some more points, I'm not in a spot to win any league money now.

I drank too much last night, so I don't really remember a lot of the details clearly, but again, the cash game was more prosperous than the tournament. I was hesitant to join the game as I had an early shift at work the next day and I kinda wanted to sleep. My gambling problem got the better of me though and I bought in for $5. I'm glad I did, I was able to walk away with $20 after everyone left for the night. I was getting card lucky though. But I'm not complaining, that doesn't happen enough for my liking anyway.

There were a couple of big hands that I remember clearly. First one, I was in the SB and I call dark. The whole table had limped in before me, so I had odds to call with pretty much any two cards. I was also playing a little loose and reckless since it was just a friendly home game. Then Mike in the big blind raises to $2. I'm like crap, now I have to look at my cards. Everyone folds and I look down and see JJ. Well, I had to push. I do and Mike calls and shows 22! Of course, he was pretty drunk too. My hand held to boost my stack a lot.

The other big hand was when I was UTG, I have AQo so I raise to 80cents. Two positions down, Brent raises all-in. Now one thing to note, is the whole table had decided this would be the last orbit for the night; we were actually on the second last hand to be played, so I figured Brent was just feeling ready to GAMBOOOL! And with the way the players play at our game, AQo was a strong hand. Anyway, I call and he flips KQo. I've got him dominated, so of course what come on the flop? A freaking Queen AND a King. Goddammit, I'm beginning to hate that hand, busting me last tournament and now this. Well, I pull the patented resuck and catch runner, runner Ten then Jack to have a straight and keep my money and take Brent's.

Next poker night is also our BBQ, so it should be a great event and hopefully it brings out more people.

Needed a Change

So, I've not been enjoying hold'em too much lately. So I decided to switch games for a bit. I tried Omaha for a bit and failed miserably, then I tried Razz. I'm not great at the game, but can easily break even. I think I might hang out at the low limit razz games for a while. It was quite fun. Especially when I won a hand with 9 high against a person who kept raising me every street and had a hand of JJxxx at showdown. Gotta love people who sit at a table and don't know the rules.

Silver Star

Woohoo! First time I've ever made it to Silver Star status on Pokerstars. I was just able to squeak in the the last few points at about 10 o'clock tonight. Not that I'm going to do anything extra with the new status, but it's cool to make it one level up either way.

Big Slick Suited

So another home game at Robbie Robb's and my place last night. Rob was worried we'd have a poor turnout, but we ended up have about the same as any other night.

My tournament didn't last long. During the 30/60 blind levels, Mike to my right raises all in for about 900 chips, I look down and see AcKc, so I re-raise all in for about 2500 total. Then Jason to my left starts to think. You can tell he really wants to call, but he's hesitant. Unfortunately, he makes the call and has me covered. We flip our cards, Mike has QJo (I forget which suits), and Jason had KdQd. I have them both dominated...so what comes on the flop? A Queen and a Jack! I catch a flush draw on the turn, but the river is a blank and I'm out.

The rest of the night, was filled with waiting, the cash game didn't get started until about only 2 or 3 people left in the tournament. Although, that ended up us having our first full table for the cash game, usually we play short-handed.

I started off well. First hand I'm dealt QQ, there's a limp, so I raise to 50 cents, a bunch of people fold, Mike raises it to $1, Mooney calls and I decide to push, both players are fairly loose and I figure I'm good here. Both call and we reveal. Mike has 88 and Mooney has JJ. No one improves with the board, so right away, I'm sitting with $15 in front of me. Live poker is so rigged!

FPP Satellites

So, I did use those FPPs I won to try and win entry to the Sunday million. I first tried the 1800 FPP 30 man turbo. Four places won entry. I ended up busting out 7th on that one. This was about a week ago so I don't remember how I busted, but I was getting short so I was in push or fold mode and my hand just didn't hold when I was called.

Today, I tried the 2700 FPP 20 man turbo. Again, four places paid entry. The deck was hitting me nicely throughout the tournament. Pocket queens a couple times, both times I was able to get all in and they held. Jacks held up when I called an all in. Pocket tens eliminated another opponent. Even AKs won a couple hands. I was chip leader for most of the tournament. It only took about 40 minutes to play. So quick is nice, especially when you never know when the little one is going to need your attention.

I think I like the second satellite better of the two (and not just because, I won). Sure, it costs more, but more places pay per entry. But since the two satellites combined work out to 4500 FPPs (fortunately, I had earned a few at the $50NL tables), it will be a while before I can play this one again.

I've already unregistered from the tourney. I really want to play, but I don't think it's a good idea. One, it's in the middle of the afternoon when I have to worry about getting supper ready for Alex and two, there's no guarantee I will make it to the money. I will probably sell the T$, but I might wait a bit. I told Rob if I could win two Satellites, I'd play the Sunday million with one and sell the T$ I get from the other.

Bored

I was bored tonight and didn't feel like playing serious poker, so I first decided to join a 400 FPP WSOP qualifer. That turned out ot be a crapshoot with people going all in with marginal hands. I raised with AQs and was raised all in. Since I know I was probably a favorite based on previous hands he shown down, I quickly called. I soon learned that A9o>AQs, he had flopped his nine and I caught nothing.

Still bored, I then joined a 40FPP rebuy WSOP qualifier. I think I had to rebuy something like 7 times. I was just not getting lucky tonight...maybe a carry over from yesterday? There were actually a couple people yelling at some of the players for going all in preflop. I guess they had never played rebuys before since that is the basic strategy for the game. After rebuys were over, I folded alot. I did try to suck out on someone when I called with A3 versus their 55, I was already in the BB and it was not much more for me to call.

My luck finally turned though. On the button, I have KQo and it's folded to me. I move all in which isn't even enough to cover the BB and pray (it was a turbo, blinds were hurting everyone at this point). The flop comes 4Q4 and I win a much needed pot. After that hand, although I wasn't getting too many hands preflop, if I did see the flop, I was hitting. I was able to coast my way through the rest of the tournament and was able to qualify.

I've actually unregistered from the other tournament. I'm working when it starts, but it was worth 4000FPPs. Not too bad, but I have no idea what I'm going to use them for. Nothing I'm too interested in in the store right now. Maybe I'll use them for Sunday Million qualifiers.

Major Downswing

I'm either getting hit hard by the variance stick or I just plain suck at poker. No matter what I did yesterday, I just could not win a hand. I was dealt KK several times and every time an A flopped and I was up against major aggression. I had AA not cracked by AJo, but a split pot when the board showed a seven high straight. I later caught a couple more straights and got my opponents all in, only to find they had the exact same hand so more spit pots. So I was either losing or splitting the pot, either way, because of rake, I was losing money. Grrr....It was a very frustrating day.

Extra Traffic

I've noticed some extra traffic to my site lately, which is really cool. Most are from google searches, but I'm sure they are searches intended to find my page. At least I like to think they are specifically to search for my page. But a search for "micro poker grinding blog" and "nikita poker" proves I'm not being too egotistical. I'm so glad you guys are searching for and finding me.

The funny thing is, the traffic has seemed to increase the most this month and I think the is the month I've posted the least. I've just haven't had much to say. I've been grinding the $25NL tables but not as much. I've played a few SNGs, but nothing substantial. I think I've maybe averaged an hour of poker a night.

I guess I will update my poker exploits a little for everyone. It's not that exciting though. My grinding is barely break even right now. I'm sure I've got a few leaks that are causing issues. I've posted a hand or two at TalkingPoker.com. I need to post more. I've been running decent at the SNGs. For the month of April, I have an ROI of 25% with a finish in the money of 43%. I doubt this is sustainable, but I'm willing to ride the rush.

If you have been searching for my site, feel free to comment. I'd like to know who you are. Any suggestions are welcome too.

WWdN Final Table!

Rob and I decided to play a tournament together tonight and since it was Tuesday, we joined the Wil Wheaton dot Net invitational. I've played a few of them, but have usually been quite unsuccessful at them. Although I did knock out Wil once.

Well, tonight was the night. I finally made it to the final table. Made it to the money! Woo hoo! Ended up 6/51 for a cool $33.15 payout. I would have done better but AK is no good against AJ.

Poker Graph

Here is a graph of my month of March. A little up and down, but overall up for the month. It's amusing to see the huge dips at the end of the month. I started out playing $10NL and then switched to $25NL. I'm fumbling around at the limit a bit, but I think I can beat it overall.

Royal Flush

Second one ever.

PokerStars Cash game, $0.10/$0.25 No Limit, 6 players
Hand History Converted at http://www.talkingpoker.com/hh

SB: $28.40
BB: $28.55
HERO (UTG): $23.30
MP: $5.50
CO: $15.45
Button: $37.10

SB posts Small Blind $0.1
BB posts Big Blind $0.25

Pre-flop: Ad Jd ($0.35)
HERO raises to $0.95
MP folds
CO calls $1
Button calls $1
SB folds
BB folds

Flop: Qd As Td ($3.3)
HERO bets $2.2
CO calls $2.2
Button folds

Turn: Qd As Td Kd ($7.7)
HERO checks
CO checks

River: Qd As Td Kd 4c ($7.7)
HERO bets $4.7
CO calls $4.7

CO shows Ks Js
HERO wins $16.50 with a Royal Flush

Neteller News

Well, this article was just posted on the Talking Poker forum. It looks like Canadians will no longer be able to use Neteller to fund gambling sites.

It sucks a little. I had pulled all my money out of Neteller (because of the US issue), but I kept them around as they were the easiest way to move money from site to site. I doubt I will play anywhere but Pokerstars now, but the hard part is how do I withdraw my money and put it back into my bank account? Ok, maybe this sucks more than a little.

Good Cash Game

Rob and I hosted our monthly home game today. Unfortunately, I was scheduled to work until midnight, so I wasn't in for the tournament, but the cash game was still running so I joined that.

I was quite surprised by the play this month. Typically, it's just call, call, call, min bet, min bet, min bet and then showdown. This time, there were quite a few hefty raises and actual laydowns. I decided to donk it up a bit since it was just a $10NL game, and was calling with any suited cards or any paint. I got all in with a weak hand and knew I was behind and ended up with only 40 cents left. I then push with K2s and catch a flush and triple my stack. I get short again, and go all in dark for 60 cents total. I didn't look at my cards until the river when all of us still in showed. Surprisingly, I had ended up with a pretty decent hand--I had A5o and had caught two pair. I built my stack up and get all in on the flop with a pair of Kings, Jack kicker. Brett calls me with a 7 high flush draw--he too was donking it up and he usually does for the cash games. He doesn't complete his flush but catches his two pair instead--sevens and threes. Yuck. Anyway, the game doesn't last too much longer and I end up only down about a buck. It seems Jeff made the best of the cash game and he walked away with over $20.

I'm out.

Out in 384th. My AA was no good against 47s--he was of course defending his blind and hit. Bah! Well, I paid a total of $15.30 for the tournament and 384 was good for $27.58. So a small profit.

Sick Hand

Ok, I had to post this. It's from the tournament.

PokerStars Tournament game, buy-in $3.00+0.30, Level XIII $1000/$2000 No Limit, 9 players
Hand History Converted at http://www.talkingpoker.com/hh

SB: T$17930
BB: T$21115
UTG: T$60514
UTG+1: T$25518
MP1: T$37745
MP2: T$91635
HERO (MP3): T$73945
CO: T$39936
Button: T$38870

Players post T$100 ante
SB posts Small Blind T$1000
BB posts Big Blind T$2000

Pre-flop: 5c 3d (T$3900)
UTG raises to T$6000
UTG+1 calls T$6000
MP1 folds
MP2 folds
HERO folds
CO raises to T$39836
Button folds
SB folds
BB folds
UTG raises to T$60414
UTG+1 calls T$19418

Flop: Qd Kh Js ($129568)

Turn: Qd Kh Js Qh (T$129568)

River: Qd Kh Js Qh Jd (T$129568)

CO shows Kc Ac
UTG shows Ad Jh
UTG+1 shows Qc As
UTG wins T$28836 with a full house Jacks full of Queens
UTG+1 wins T$80154 with a full house Queens full of Jacks

$3.30R $10000 Guaranteed

First attempt at a serious rebuy. I just made it to the money at the $10k guaranteed at Pokerstars. I'm sitting in 47/588 right now. I will update once the tourney is done on how I did, I just don't want to jinx it.

Bonus Cleared

I actually cleared the bonus at UB. It was long and tedious and the play at $2 and $10NL is awful, but that helped me make a few bucks along the way as well. I've withdrawn all my money from there and will be putting it on Stars, I don't plan on doing much more bonus whoring, I have a decent enough 'roll now and grinding has been getting to me the last little bit. Maybe I should take some more money out of my account and find a few more Wii games to buy and focus on playing those instead.

LOL at Paranoia

I recently stumbled on this article about online poker being rigged. Wow. I have no background on how legitimate this site is for "learning" poker, but seriously how paranoid can you get?

Trip Report

So last night Rob, Adam and Jason and I headed towards Strathroy for a NL hold'em tournament that Adam heard about. After about a 40 minute drive it was clear it wasn't quite in strathroy and to be honest, I have no idea where we were. It was definitely an out of the way town especially since I had never heard of the place before.

We took two cars, Rob and I followed Adam and Jason. Jason was the cellphone contact as Adam was the only one who knew how to get there. And when we pulling into the drive of what was probably a farm, I said to Rob, "You know, if Adam is actually a serial killer, this is the perfect place to lead us to." We park and Adam leads us into a barn/shed. It probably at one point held a lot of farm equipment but was mostly cleared out except for the tables and chairs for all who were going to play.

The buy-in is $26+4 (we think). From what I gathered from Adam, it was a "charity" tournament for the local Optimus Club. It really wasn't clearly advertised what the rake was, so we have no idea how much the real buy-in was. In fact, it wasn't a very organized tournament; it was more like a very big home game.

The blind structure and chip counts kinda sucked. They started the blinds and 1/2 and then doubled them every 20 minutes(for the most part, there were a couple stages where it wasn't a double). And we only started with 150 chips. Definitely not a structure I'm used to. There were 30 players and 4 ended up paying out. First was a cool $312.

It was slow for the game to start. Everyone seemed to know everyone else--if they weren't related--so there was a lot of chatting and catching up on news before everyone was ready to play. When we did get going, Jason and I ended up at the same table and Rob and Adam were at two others. The best way to describe the play is "LOL, donkaments!"

It was bad; it was worse than the play at our home game. Everyone at the table would limp in. Although, if there were raises, it still didn't thin the field, it just sweetened the pot. The betting typically consisted of min bets, ocassionally someone would bet 2XBB but that was rare. And if they had an Ace in their hand, that was good enough to call down to the river. So, my strategy was to wait. I didn't want to get into to many pots with so many players. It was tough though, because of the blinds, waiting also meant worrying about being short stacked. As well, if I was in the BB or SB and I hit TP or better, I was staying until the river as my hand was likely good.

I really didn't have a choice about waiting for hands, though. I was not getting very good cards either way. So I folded and folded and folded. Blinds are about 5/10 and I look down and see TT. My stack is so-so, so I decide to make a hefty raise and re-evaluate on the flop. I get two callers and the flop is 34Q rainbow. The only thing I am afraid of is a queen so I push and hope neither player has one. One calls and one folds. When she flips her cards I'm happy to see A7o. The turn is a 5 and I'm now dreading a 6 on the river, but I hold up when it's just a seven. I scoop the pot and I'm good for a couple more blind increases.

My friend, Jason, is eliminated shortly after that and as he is busted he says to me "I hate the Mooney tables." Mooney is the worst player at our home game. I nod to Jason in agreement as I'm a little frustrated as well.

Part way into the 10/20 blind stage, I looked down to see KK in the BB. Time to make a move, I need to get more chips if I want to get to the final table let alone to the money. The whole table limps in, so I push. Everyone folds except for one caller. He flips A6o. I laugh and just feel an ace coming since I do have the kiss of death. Amazingly, my hand holds up.

Later, I double up a short stack when my TT ran into her QQ. Then next hand I call another all in with AKo and he flips QQ again. I'm beginning to hate the ladies. I end up lucking out and the two of us split the pot when the board made a straight.

During these hands, Adam goes broke and then later I see Rob come by my table so he's out as well. It's up to me now to represent.

Finally, the "tournament director" yells out that we will be going on break and after break we will be at final table! Blinds will also start at 20/40. I count my chips and I'm hurting. I have just under 200 chips. Once the game was one again, I check the chip stacks at the table there are 8 of us and only one other player is as desperate as I am. I was definitely going to have to push with any type of good holdings.

First hand is dealt and I'm UTG. I check and see QQ. Perfect, I'm sure to get a caller with this hand, so I push my stack in. Nope, everyone folds. Okay, the ladies really are a crappy hand for me tonight. In the BB I check and see 94 both spades. Sigh, with 60 chips coming off my stack this and the next hand, I'm not likely the looks of how things are going. So before the flop is dealt, everyone but one person limps in. As the cards are dealt, I see spade, then spade and finally a third spade. I flopped a flush. Not a great one, but it's all I have, when it's my turn to act, I push my stack to the center again. I get one caller again and when he flips his cards, my tournament is over. His K3 of spades, makes his King high flush better than mine. My only hope is a runner runner for a straight flush. It doesn't happen and I end out in 8th place.

I head over to where Rob and Jason are and the three of us wait until Adam finishes playing a Sit and Go that had started up. His game ends and he tells us he finished in first, so at least one of us were able to leave with a small profit.

iPod Freeroll

Ash posted this on his blog and I'm always up for a good freeroll so I registered too.

Poker Sites

Home Game Report

It was poker night again last night. We had a couple new players players, but still only about 13 in total. I ended up at the donkey table; no one was raising pre flop and post flop the bets were typically just min bets.

I was having difficulties with my hands holding up. First, I slow play a set to have Jen catch her better set on the river to win a lot of my chips. Then I hit TPGK and bet hard to have Julie (new player to both our home game and to the game of poker), call me all the way to the river. She was calling with A high, but unlucky me the Ace did come. The funny thing, she would call my big bets with A high, but earlier, she had two pair and wanted to fold it when Scott was betting hard into her.

I was finally crippled at the final table when I called Mooney's allin with A4s on a 567 rainbow flop. Mooney is perfectly willing to push with air so I was 90% confident my A high had him beat and I knew if I called other similar hands would fold. When I called Mooney turnd over 79o. I did catch an A on the turn, but another 7 came on the river. I'm left with 25 chips when the blinds are either 75/150 or 100/200 (I'm not sure exactly which). I'm allin the next hand and with lots of betting and calling I know I'm toast. And it's confirmed when Jessie turns over quads.

Jason came in third, Adam came in second. And a surprising first was Jen. She was definitely excited. She knows how to play poker, but she also knows she's not very good at it.

Also, Adam invited Rob and I to a tournament in Strathroy. It's a $30 buy-in and he says usually about 80 people buy-in, so we agreed to go. I've never played in a real live tournament, so this should be fun. I believe it's next week, so I will have to write up a trip report.

Computers Suck

So my computer has been acting a little weird lately. And the other day I got a BSOD (blue screen of death), when I turned my computer back on, all my default settings on firefox had returned and all my saved passwords were gone. As well, every time I opened a program, I'd get a little pop up that a file was corrupt and to run chdsk. I've reloaded my setting for firefox, but everytime I shut down my computer, they disappear again. Rob thinks my hard drive is going so that sucks huge. We weren't really looking to get a new computer anytime soon, but mine might not last much longer. Stupid computers. Plus if my computer does go, I won't be able to play poker until we get a new one.

Poker Night at Rob's

Poker night at our house is next week-end. Anyone we know and lives nearby is invited so feel free to head over to our house. You can get more info here.

I like Talking Poker Tournaments

It was a small turnout, likely since it wasn't a league game, just a spur of the moment game. I started off well. I quickly got my stack up to over 2k. I wasn't chipleader, but I was a strong second. In fact there was a point where it was just studiopet (1st) and myself who had over 1500 chips. Then, I did a good job of doubling Robbie Robb up, made a stupid call on the flop with air. I knew deep down he had hit, but because he was so short at this time, I felt like risking it. And shortly after that, I helped to double Robbr up. I tried to be cute limping UTG with TT (only 5 of us left at this time), when Robbr raised (also quite short by this time) I re-raised, essentially putting him all in. When the cards were flipped, he shows JJ--D'oh.

The shortest I ended up was around 800. I was actually THE short stack for a while. I figured I would end up bubbling. Then Robbr was nice enough to give back my chips back when he raise, and I moved all in with AQo. He called with A7o, and my hand held.

After a ton of hands Bunny and Studio are eliminated and were HU. It was quick. First hand, Robbr folds his SB to me. Second hand, well here it is below:

POKERSTARS GAME #8397933803: TOURNAMENT #42508903, $10+$1 HOLD'EM NO LIMIT - LEVEL IV (50/100) - 2007/02/11 - 22:28:55 (ET)
Table '42508903 1' 9-max Seat #9 is the button
Seat 8: Robbr25 (4500 in chips)
Seat 9: N1kita (4500 in chips)
N1kita: posts small blind 50
Robbr25: posts big blind 100
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to N1kita [6c Ah]
N1kita: raises 200 to 300
Robbr25: raises 600 to 900
N1kita: calls 600
*** FLOP *** [Ac 6d 6h]
Robbr25: bets 900
N1kita: calls 900
*** TURN *** [Ac 6d 6h] [4s]
Robbr25: checks
N1kita: checks
*** RIVER *** [Ac 6d 6h 4s] [7c]
Robbr25: checks
N1kita: bets 2700 and is all-in
Robbr25 said, "well you prob have me beat, but KOD"
Robbr25: calls 2700 and is all-in
N1kita said, "ouch"
*** SHOW DOWN ***
N1kita: shows [6c Ah] (a full house, Sixes full of Aces)
Robbr25: shows [Kd Kh] (two pair, Kings and Sixes)
N1kita said, "yeah i did"
N1kita said, "gg"
N1kita collected 9000 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 9000 | Rake 0
Board [Ac 6d 6h 4s 7c]
Seat 8: Robbr25 (big blind) showed [Kd Kh] and lost with two pair, Kings and Sixes
Seat 9: N1kita (button) (small blind) showed [6c Ah] and won (9000) with a full house, Sixes full of Aces


And as you can see, that was game. YEAH ME!

Oh and here is an amusing screen shot of the table as the game ended. Please note from this picture you can tell exactly how long the tournament lasted (and no, it's not because of the clock in the bottom right hand corner).

Back To Basics

Ok, so I decided not to take a break. I've been playing a little bit, but not much. A few Sngs, a couple of tourneys. I played a $25PL table at Stars the other day. Anyway, I think if I'm going to keep playing, I need to get back to the basics, back to continuously working on my game. I haven't read a poker book in a while and I think I need to start up again. I plan on re-reading Harrington on Hold'em again. There are a few I haven't read yet that I think I should. The "Book of Tells" and "Kill Phil" are on my list. I've been content to stay at the level I'm comfortable at. It's time I get serious about moving up again. I may not do well everytime I take a stab at moving up, but that's normal. And that's where bankroll management comes in. Get rolled for moving up, try it, if need be move back down, if not, build the roll and move up again. It may be a long time before I'm playing $1/$2 since I don't play very many hands, but I should eventually get there.

Break from Poker

I haven't been too interested in playing poker lately. Once in a while during January, I picked up my laptop to play. But it was more out of habit than an urge to play. I had fun, but not as much as I usually do. I'm also doing well this month, so I'm not sure why I don't feel the poker itch. It's funny, I'm almost getting the hang of the cash game grind. I think I'm starting to get better at it than tournaments.

Anyway, I've started pulling my money out of the sites I'm currently playing at. I think I'm going to take a break again, probably a month; that seemed to work last time. I'm not 100% sure I want to break though. If I don't feel like playing is a break really necessary? I will probably pull my money off either way. If I don't take a break, I think I will just go back to where I started from. Most sites won't let you withdraw change, so I have to leave some money in the accounts. I don't mind grinding out at the penny tables. And even though they are donkaments, freerolls can actually be fun.

We will see, let's see how the beginning of February goes.

League Time

So, Rob and I hosted yet another poker game at our house last night. This time we've also started a league. Anyone is welcome to join but doesn't have to be in the league to play. There were 13 of us last night and pretty much everyone committed to the league, which will run for the entire year.

It was fun as always, but that's the main point of Rob and I running these. We just like our friends coming over and hanging out. I started out really well. Of course it helped I was getting the hands. Fairly early in the tournament, I'm dealt AKs, I believe I was UTG so I raise. I get one caller, then Jeff re-raises. Jeff is a decent player so I know he doesn't have a weak holding. I opt to call, as does the person who called my initial raise. I'm looking to hit an A on the flop, big pockets are a definite concern. Fortunately, the A does come, so I bet out. One fold, then Jeff raises me. Oh oh. Well, I figure AA is a definite possibility, but two A are already out. I'm thinking he quite possibly has AK as well. The other two cards on the flop were blanks, so there are not very many hands I am behind. I decide to risk it and move all-in. Jeff hits the tank to think. He does call and he flips KK. Ouch, depending on the turn and river, I just cracked kings. My hand does hold up. Fortunately, for Jeff he had me covered, but unfortunately, not by much; he's left with 40 chips.

This is a little disappointing because we get points for the league for kills. So if I had taken Jeff out I would have recieved a quick 5 points for the league. And worse, with only 40 chips, it's very easy for anyone at the table to eliminate him. Although, Jeff caught a great hand and was able to get the whole table to call his all in to get a decent stack back. His pocket tens held up against the table. I did double him up shortly after that when my AJ rand into his AQ. By this time he was back up to something like 500 chips.

With a huge stack early in the game, I decide to see more pots than I usually do. I limp with a lot of crappy hands. That works well for me too, as Craig ended up sitting to my right. He's very loose and tends to bet with nothing. So if I hit the flop, I was content to call him down. I did this a couple times and quickly scooped the pot when he showed nothing.

I was able to eliminate two people at our table and after a few others went out, we merged to final table at 8 left. When I sat down, it was apparent I was chip leader. The final table wasn't very exciting. Most of us were fairly tight. Although, there were a few short stacks who were willing to push their entire stacks into the middle when they needed to. I was dealt the great hands when I needed again. Brett moved all in when I had 88. I knew pocket pairs were a possiblitly but so were overcards, so I quickly called. He showed AK and it didn't improve. Then later Brett moved in and I had AA, I slowly called this one. I was in either the SB or BB and the others at the table had limped into the pot. I was hoping if I showed hesitation, one of them would also call. No one else did. Brett showed KQs or QJs, I can't remember which. My hand held up again.

I never really took a hit to my stack once I built it. Rob was also at the final table and he had done well. This was nice for a change, since the last few games, the both of us have been having a hard time making it deep. Adam ended up in third place, and it was Rob and I heads up. I was willing to go all in every hand, since although additional league points would be nice, who won 1st didn't matter much since the money would both be ours in the long run. Rob was against it, so I played serious for a few hands. Then I decided meh, it's getting late and I'm tired, so anytime I got a strong head's up hand, I would push. It only took two all-ins from me before Rob was in too. It was K7 vs JT. I had JT. I didn't improve and Rob won the first league game.

Finished

Ghost Recon for the 360 is complete. I have defeated the game. Next I need to work on finishing Zelda for the Wii. Then maybe I will get back to more serious poker.

Everybody say Wii!

Woohoo! The Wii is finally here. A friend of ours, Mike, was able to find one in Kitchener. He bought one for himself, one for us and a third for another friend of his. The place had just recieved their shipment and Mike took half of them.

I'm soooo happy. I can't wait to play the new Zelda. And the Wii sports are supposed to be really fun too. Now, we just need to find a store that has a Wiimote and nunchuck in stock.

Oh and I don't think I updated that Rob has his Xbox360. I've been playing Ghost Recon on it for the last couple of days. It's the game that came with the system. It's actually a really good game, I was off yesterday and I don't think I did much else but play that game.

Sorry poker gods, but for the next while I will be worshipping the gaming gods.

Bounty Tournaments

UB has these bounty tourneys running now. Basically, there is the regular tournament buy-in and then an extra fee that goes to the bounty pool. Everyone in the tournament has a bounty on their head. If you eliminate someone you get their bounty. They seemed interesting, so I joined a $2.20 last night. So, $1.20 for the tournament and $1 for the bounty. They of course ran like just a regular tournament, but they were much more enjoyable, especially since I took out 6 people. So, before I even made it to the money, I had won $6! I did make it to the money, but not by much. Ninety places paid, I made it to 54th for a $2.56 payout. At least I made more from the bounties. I'm thinking I might do a few more of these.

Back to UB

I cleared my Stars bonus the other day and since I have a bonus still at Ultimate Bet and they've fixed their hand history issue, I decided to put some money back into that site and continue to whittle away at it.

Now, I think I've found another reason to hate UB. Suckout city! I lost two buyins to the same donkey (V$PIP:80%, WSD:50%)! I had strong hands, he just kept outdrawing me on the river. Big pockets like AA and KK were no good. Flopping a set was no good. AK and flopping a K against AJ no good (good ole runner runner J). It was frustrating, especially because he was so eager to spread the money he won from me to everyone else at the table. He was a gold mine, but just not for me. And stupid me uninstalled Ultimatebuddy, so I didn't think to add him to my buddy list to follow him around, as I know once his luck runs out, I'll easily get my money back.

Some Updates

Well, so far this year, poker has been what you expect from poker. Some ups, some downs. I've played a few $5.50 SNGs; those did not go well at all. I did not make it to the money in any of them. And after checking Poker Tracker, well, I think I need to stop playing these. Although it's a small sample, it's still very telling. I've played 16 (lifetime, not just this month) and only made the money once and that was a second. Yuck!

I'm back to cash games for a bit, my work schedule lately has made it hard for me to find the time to put into tournaments. So far, $10NL is treating me well. I'm up, but knowing me, that could change. My cash games are chock full of swings. I guess it's to be expected, but I'm sure they are bigger than normal variance. I think I get impatient after folding and folding and folding, then when I finally get a hand to play, I don't want to get off it since I've been waiting so long to play. I also think I'm way too tight, but at micro-limits it's probably better to be too tight than too loose.

And finally, the Wii will be coming soon. I think Rob and I will start hunting for one anytime we go out now. Hopefully, stores will start to have them in stock. Plus Rob won a $3.30 triple shoot-out on stars so he's using that money to buy an X-box 360. I'm thinking poker will soon be taking a back seat to gaming.

Last Day of the Year.

Well, it's the last day of the year. I'm plus for poker which I'm proud of and glad I accomplished. So checking Poker Tracker, I made ~$64 in cash games over 21K hands and ~$740 over 163 tournaments and sit n go's. It's not a lot of money, but by playing mostly $2NL cash games and $1 and $2 buy-in tournaments, it's definitely a great ROI.

Plus those totals don't include non-hold'em or any bonuses I cleared. I know I've taken about $900 of that and put it into my bank account and I still have about $350 as a bankroll, so you do the math on the actual amount I've won.

For next year, I'm going to try to work my way up to $25NL. I'm finally playing $10NL comfortably right now. Plus as you can see, tournaments are good for me, so I definitely need to play more of those. It's just that the big cashes are so few and far between. I'm thinking of maybe working on the $4.40 180s at Stars. They are always running and first place does pay out pretty good.

Merry Christmas

...and a Happy New Year!

No Fucking Way!

This is just unreal. I went back to use up the $100 I had left in my Party account and yeah, I won another $280! Wow.

Holy Crap!

So, I just logged into Party to watch Rob play. I'm glad I did. When I logged in, they were offering me a $100 no deposit bonus for their casino. Unfortunately, you need to wager $2500 to withdraw the $100 they gave you. My first thought is with games like slots and blackjack, I'll be hard pressed to be able to wager that much before I've lost the whole amount. But it's free money so let's see what happens.

First, I try a little 3 card poker and quickly blow through $20. Next I try a little paigow and get bored. So I decide it time to lose the rest of the money quickly. It's time for the slot machines! So I'm play a few turns and suddenly up pops a "You win!". I figure it's only going to be a couple dollars, and probably less that what my initial bet was, but no I was in for a surpise. What I actually won was $250!! Holy Shit!

I immediately stop playing and check the rules to see if I can take out any of this money. There is no way I'm going to continue with the bonus if I am just going to lose back a significant win. And the good news is, as long as I don't try to take out the initial $100 they gave me, I can withdraw the rest. It's pending approval right now, so cross my fingers. This is definitely a nice Christmas present for me. I'm glad I logged into my Party account.

Wii Update

Ok, so it looks like I will have to wait to use my gift certificate from FutureShop. I have decided I want a Wii, but since it's Christmas, I don't really have a chance of getting one now. They just won't have them in stock unless you pre-order them. Sigh, I guess that's a good thing. I could see myself wanting to play with the games we get with the system rather than open presents on Christmas day.

Big Winner!

Ok, this is not poker related. So I didn't win the Sunday Million or anything as exciting at that. But I still won a great prize.

Our local radio station here is FM96 and they have what are called Freeloaders. Basically, you sign up and occasionally you can enter draws for prizes. Well, as you can guess, I'm a Freeloader and I had recently entered a couple of their draws.

And as you can further guess, they called this morning and I won!! I have won a $200 gift certificate to FutureShop! That is one kick ass prize. Now I have to decide what to buy. I'm thinking the hype has sucked me in and I might need to pick up a Wii. I will have to think about it first though.

Dream Poker Freeroll

Last night Dream Poker hosted a freeroll for the Talking Poker Forum. There was a great turnout, 58 people from the forum were registered. Unforunately, about 45 of them had just joined the forum that day and would never post again. But overall, we did keep the crashers to a minimum. And if we are lucky, one or two may even come back to the forum and become regular, useful members of the site. I was actually chasing a freeroll when I found the site for the first time. Although, I wasn't trying to crash. I went to TalkingPoker.com to see what I needed to do to get into the freeroll, learned I didn't qualify, so I didn't play in it, but stayed a member of the site because it looked interesting. I'm quite glad I did, it has definitely helped improve my game.

Anyway, even with all the crashers, the "real" TPFers made a great showing at the tournament. At the final table, there was myself, TP, redbank, Dodouble, and Tony Cheval. Hopefully, I didn't miss anyone. I was quite surprised to make it that far. Early in the tournament, I was almost crippled. I had raised PF and on the flop I hit TPTK. I was able to push another guy all in. He flips his cards and he's on a flush and a straight draw. The turn completes both, so he ends up scooping the pot with a King high straight flush. I'm down to a few hundred chips.

I just stayed patient and wait for my opponents to get into the pot against me with weaker holdings and slowly chip my way back up. By about the final two tables, I'm now chip leader. And by final table I'm holding a stack that's about average.

During the final table, I get into a pre flop pushing war with a guy named swami66. I have AK and he turns over KK. I luck out and spike an A and end up nearly crippling him. He then proceeds to go through the roof. Asking "Why I would get all in preflop against KK with AK?", "The math says AK is a bad against KK". I don't say anything other than "KOD" or Kiss of Death. But I'm thinking "Ummm...dumbass, I have no idea what cards you have in your hand until you flip them over, sure I was worried you could have AA or KK, but you could also have any other pocket pair, or Ax--or as in the case with most freerolls worse! And against all those other hands, AK is a great hand to get all in preflop with."

But, and this was the best part of the entire tournament, TP (rogue23) starts making fun of swami66. TP even challenges him to a HU match and to name the stakes. At first swami66 accepts and TP starts asking if he'd play at a different site, as he doesn't have money on Dreampoker. Funny enough, swami66 starts backing down. Either ignoring TP or saying, I'm a tourney player, I'll only play you HU if we make it to final two. TP never did get the details hashed out for a HU match, but it's not like we expected it to happen. I checked the pokerdb and he has absolutely no stats--obviously, seeing as he's just a freeroll crasher and this cash at DreamPoker is likely the most he's ever had in his account. I doubt he's even 18 years old yet.

So the final table plays out. I end up in 3rd for a decent $31 payout. Tony takes 2nd and a crasher :( takes first. Although, he didn't seem like a bad guy. Let's hope he's one of the ones that stays at the site.

Poker Night Recap

It was poker night at Nikita and Robbie Robb's house again last night. There were ten of us in total. Mostly the regulars, but there were a couple new players. Denise was able to come down from Windsor and she brought a friend. And Rob invited someone from work that also plays poker online. There were a few regulars missing, making for a different game last night. Mooney and Liz both couldn't make it. The are donkeys when it comes to poker. Well, with neither of them playing, the tournament moved a little... slower. Slower is not a bad thing. Mooney likes to go all in. This means he usually gets himself or someone eles eliminated very quickly, usually during the first bling. Last night, I think it was something like 3 or 4 blind increases before anyone was eliminated. And bets and raises definitely received a little more respect.

Rob ended up being eliminated in 8th? He can correct this if I'm wrong. His pocket tens ended up getting in against pocket Kings. My stack was up and down. Early in the game, I start out short. I was dealt KJ in the BB and when I catch a King on the flop, I play it aggressively. I raise the SBs bets on both the flop and the turn when he bets into it. On the river we both check. I have TP middle kicker. I know if he has a King, I could have a better kicker, but he is also capable of betting out on middle or bottom pair and that's why I was raising to hopefully get him out of the hand. But at showdown, it turns out he has hit his set on the flop. He had 66 and a 6 had flopped. My hand is no good.

I don't play too many hands after that. I was at best getting limpable cards. I was still in the game for final table. I did end up building up a decent stack once at final table though. I completed in the SB when I had 55. I get an amazing flop 757. I just pray one of my opponents has a seven. I check and there is a bet into the pot. I'm pretty sure he's got that seven, this works for me. I call and the turn comes a Q. I check again and when my opponents bets again, I go all-in. He calls and turns over that seven.

I doubled up again after that, but it was as exciting, it was just an all-in push pre-flop that held up against a caller. Finally, I have a decent stack. It doesn't last long though. The blinds have increased to a point where they are starting to hurt even the chip leader. My chips start getting whittled down again. There are five of us left and it there are two of us who are fairly short. Based on the blinds, I'm in push or fold mode again. Finally in the BB I have Q2s. It folds to the SB who just calls. Well, here is my chance to steal, so I push. No good, the SB calls and flips QTo. Ouch, that is not good for me at all. And I am out in 5th. Mike soon goes out after that. The final three are Adam (Rob's friend from work), Tim and Jason. Adam is the next to go out, after taking two bad beats. He gets all in with the best hand and he's out drawn by a flush both times. Then Tim and Jason are heads-up. I didn't end up seeing any of this. Alex had woken up and was screaming. We had Rob's mom taking care of him, but she was struggling to get him calmed down. So I head upstairs and help her. When I finally get Alex back to bed, the game is over. Jason takes down the tourney!

UB kinda SUX now

Ok, so I logged into UB today to play a little at the ring tables. I start up Pokertracker and PokerAce, find a table I like, sit down and open up the hand histories. What's this? I get an error. I've reached the maximum hand histories I can load. Huh, what is going on here?

Well, it turns out the last update UB did, put a restriction on the HHs you can load. This makes it hard to import data into Pokertracker. I didn't even bother playing once I figured that out. I'm going to wait for a bit then check the Pokertracker and the PokerAce forums. Hopefully, one or the other will come up with a fix.

Some new Micro MTTs at Stars

So, I haven't been playing much at PokerStars. I really only log in to play league games and that one +EV tournament. But last night after work, I opened it up to see what type of tourney I might get into. The cash games are getting to me again, so I figured a switch for a while would do me good. Well, when I log in, I notice a couple of new micro tourneys. Yay, for me! There was a $0.50 and a $0.25-$100 added, showing on the list. The 50 cent one was already registering. Both are sure to be donkaments, but they are both better than the dime tourneys.

I register for the 50 cent one and keep the 25 cent one open. There ended up being just over 1900 people registered when it finally gets going. I didn't want to play both tournaments, but I wanted to see how the prize pool ended up for each. Turns out for a micro grinder, first place in either of them is a decent boost. The 50 cent tourney first was $198 and the 25 cent tourney ended up at $168 (over 2500 players in that one though).

Well, as for the tournament I was playing. It was decent. By the first break only about 600 or 700 people were left. I was still in with a 4600 stack. And that was with playing only about 3 hands. These tournaments are definitely great for opponents pushing you all in when you have a great hand. It was about another 45 minutes before the money bubble broke. Unfortunately, I didn't last much longer after that. I ended up at a table of loose callers. Everyone limped into the pot and a raise received absolutely no respect. I was dealt JJ in MP, I raise and as expected get 3 callers. Then the next guy goes all in. He has me covered. I'm happy to push since 90% of the time, JJ is the best hand in tournaments of this level. Not sure if this was a surprise, but after I call, there were 2 other callers. So there are 4 of us all in. So, we all flip over our cards. The guy who pushed all in first has AA, OH OH. Then there is another JJ, CRAP, and then the last guy has 23s--BWAHAHAHA. But he was the worst player at the table and the only reason he was still in the tournament was due to luck. Anyway, since it was almost impossible for me to win the hand with no Jacks as outs. I was eliminate. I made a cool 30 cents ;).

I'm seriously considering grinding these two tourneys and the dollar tournaments until I get a big win and boost my roll again. I think for a player like me, they are definitely +EV.

So, out of curiosity, I added a screen shot of the odds of that hand. I knew I had a slim chance of winning and it was actually better than I thought. At least I was better off than than the other JJ guy.

+EV Tournament

The +EV comic has been having weekly tournaments at Pokerstars. Rob and decided to join in at the last minute. Besides, one of my goals from this month was to play in more tournaments, so this was the perfect opportunity.

There ended up being seventeen players. There was a bounty on Snagglefood's head (the comic creator) and first place would also get a copy of his comic.

So the game starts of mostly uneventful, especially for me. CARD DEAD. I was not getting dealt anything, not even limpable hands. Then in the SB, when the blinds are 15/30 I'm dealt 9Ts. It's folded to me, so I raise. The BB calls. I catch a nine on the flop, but there is also an ace. I CB 3/4 of the pot and he calls. The turn is a rag card. I bet out again and get raised. I fold. My stack is down to just under 700 chips. Finally, four hands later, I'm dealt QQ. Well, let's see what I can do with these. I raise and get a re-raise from the BB. I don't have much of a stack, so my choices are limited. I go all-in. He flips over AA. I don't catch another queen and I'm out in 15th place. Well, at least, I wasn't the first one out.

Some Poker at Ultimate Bet

So I've been playing the micro limits ($2NL) at UB a lot lately. When I had taken the break from poker, I had withdrawn all but a couple dollars from the site. Since I don't have any bonuses on the go right now, I figured I work on getting some of my bonus dollars from UB. I did start out at the limit tables seeing as my "bankroll" could easily disappear after one bad beat at the NL tables (I have more money elsewhere, but I don't want to deposit into UB unless they are offering a reload and even then, I withdraw right away so I have the funds available if another bonus comes up). Anyway, with the combination of winning and earning ultimate points (which convert my bonus money to real money) I get up to almost $10. This is around the time I'm getting sick of limit. It was a long slow grind even getting that far. So, I decide to risk it at the NL tables. I start out on a sick run. Any table I join I win a couple bucks pretty quickly. At one table, an all-in maniac joins. Every hand he goes all-in. I doubt I'd see this very often even at the $25NL tables, but it's not too uncommon at the penny tables. So, I wait while others call him with mediocre hands and end up doubling him up several times to about $11. Finally, I get the Kiss of Death, KK. Well, it's time to press my luck. I have about $3 in front of me, I call his all-in and surprisingly, the hand holds up! Even more surprisingly, I wasn't the only caller. There were four people in this pot and the Kings survive against all of them. So, just from that hand alone, I get a huge boost to the bankroll on UB. Of course, since it's only $2NL, it's went from $12 to about $22. Unfortunately, variance has now kicked in. My bankroll seems stuck around the $25 mark at the site. I will have a few winning sessions, then next session, I'll lose several buy-ins equaling about what I won in the previous sessions. Bah, stupid poker. I just have to remember to stay patient and wait for variance to once again be in my favour.

Poker Coming to a Cab Near You

Not that I take very many cabs, or even live in the UK, but this is a very cool thing. Why talk to your driver when you can watch poker instead? Check out this link here.

Site Broken

So a while ago (couple months now) I broke my site. It was frozen, where any posts or changes I made wouldn't be added to the site. Rob fixed it so my new posts would show, but he never got around to fixing the rest of the site.

So today, since I was making a post anyway, I decided to work on fixing it. I figured instead of trying to fix what was wrong, I would start from scratch. So I've switched to the new blogger beta. It meant changing my template and I'm still figuring out how to use all the features, but at least my site is working properly again.

Naked Poker

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Poker Night Recap

Well, Rob and I hosted yet another home game last night at our place. As usual, it was a $10 buy-in NLHE tournament. There were only 11 of us, but it was still a great night.

Since, I was schedule a 4 day week-end, I decided I would enjoy the night with a few beers. I'm sure this affected my game, but it's all for fun anyway. Neither Rob or I made it to the money this time. I'm not sure when Rob busted, but I bubbled. The big stack at the table, had the other three of us covered and was using that to his advantage by bullying. He was in the SB and I was in the BB. When the flop came, he bet out as usual and since I had caught bottom pair, I figured I would push. It just so happens that this hand, he actually had a piece of the flop, a top pair piece. Oh well, I was half drunk by that time and I'm surprised I made it even that far with my senses clouded.

By this time, there was a 5c/10c cash game going on at the other table, so I decide to join. The money was just flying back and forth across this table. And there were alot of all-ins. This meant rebuying back in. I have no idea how much money was on that table after it was all said and done, but I'm wondering if there was more money being played for in the cash game than the tournament. Final tally, Craig Mooney left with about $20 or $30 bucks, Brent left up about $14 (plus he came in second in the tourney), and Rob did us well and won about $30 at the cash game. I was down a $5 buy-in.

League Game Last Night

Well, I convinced Rob to back me last night for the Talking Poker Forum League III. It was just a NLHE game. We've added a few other game types and I've been hoping to crash one of those just for the practice and the fun.

Anyway, 13 people ended up signing up; Boobie Lover just made it in before registration closed. We had the usual attendees. Although, TP was there, but as we found out later, he had forgotten about it. He was sitting out the whole tournament. Although, it may have worked well for him. He placed in 4th for not even playing a hand which also gave him points.

I basically went into the tournament hoping to steal some points away from legitimate league members. If the points don't count for me, I might as well try to make them not count for someone else. I think going in thinking like this really helps my game. I'm playing the way I usually play, but I'm not thinking about trying to get to the money. I just focus on the hand I'm playing, trying to win that pot or not lose all my chips in that pot.

So, the first really big pot I get into was with Rob. I limp with KT suited in MP (although I think there were only 5 or 6 of us at the table). I didn't raise because I didn't want to deal with a re-raise, but depending on the size, I would call a raise. From the SB, Rob only raises it to 3XBB (we are only on the first level of the tourney). I call and eejit calls who had also limped from the CO. The flop comes 9sQsKh. A great flop for me. Rob leads out for only 40 the pot is 180 now. I raise him another 140. Uhoh, he re-raises me to 750. I'm worried now. I know what types of hands Rob will preflop raise with in the SB and most of them have me beat. I'm thinking the worst hand he would raise with is AK, which still beats me, but I also have a gutshot. It was tempting to call, but was it worth it to risk half my stack on a chase. I was 75% sure I was behind. After delving into a few seconds of my time bank, I fold. Rob shows his pocket Aces. Good fold? I'm not sure, I think I will have run the odds later.

Next big hand for me was again against Rob. We are now down to the final 9. He raises and I re-raise him with JJ. We are sitting across from each other in the living room and he looks up at me and asks "You got aces?" I shrug and say, "I did re-raise". He starts typing on his computer and I see that he has decided to re-re-raise. Well, this could definitely mean Rob has KK or AA. I knew that. But I also know that Rob and I know how each other play very well. He could have very well pushed with a hand less than that to make it look like he had those hands, knowing my first thoughts would be kings or aces. I was willing to press my luck, I push and he insta-calls. Crap, it was KK that he had. But then I suck out on the flop and catch my J. Rob is down to 185 in chips. Crippled but not too badly since we were still only at level 2 for the tournament.

The jacks were good for me tonight. At level 3, I was dealt them again. In the CO I raise 4xBB. KURN calls from the BB. The flop comes 7s2dJs and KURN pushes his entire stack in. I, of course, quickly call. He flips over 8h7h and in the chat says, "Bad timing for a stop and go." KURN's hand doesn't improve and I eliminate him from the tournament.

The tournament moved fast. We were down to three players even before first break. But once down to myself, JD and eejit. The game really slowed down. We were playing 3 handed for quite some time. I think the different styles helped stall the game. JD is an incredible poker player and amazingly successful, agressive and smart. He built up his bankroll from playchips to something ridiculous like 100k and he's not even legal to play poker live yet. Eejit is a chaos factor. A big bluffer. But if you pay attention, you can tell when he's bluffing. Then there was me. A little too tight, especially for a short handed game, but at least I can be aggressive when I get into a pot. I was hoping that the styles of JD and eejit would clash just right to get one or the other eliminated. JD would be aggressive, eejit would bluff and JD would catch him and take him out, or something similar to that. Although, it didn't quite happen that way. JD's laptop started to lose power. His AC adaptor had stopped charging his computer and soon it would turn off. He started to push with a lot of hands. I'm sure he was just trying to get eliminate or take us both out quickly before the laptop died. He seemed to be pushing more after I raised. I'm thinking that JD was hoping I had a big hand and I would take the chips to have a lead over eejit going into heads up. Anyway, I finally did call one of JD's pushes and my hand held up. I actually forget what the two hands were.

Now I'm heads up agains eejit. We play a few hands back and forth, nothing too big. I'm mostly waiting. From previous tournaments, eejit will try a huge bluff, so I was waiting for that moment. Then I get A4o. I'm in the SB and I decide to just complete rather than raise. Eejit does raise from 200 to 800. I just call. The flop comes 9sAsAd. Eejit acts first and bets 800 into the pot. I think this may be the hand to get all of his chips. I've got a monster hand for heads up and eejit is putting money in to the pot. I'm thinking he caught the 9 on the flop. Or he raise with a pocket pair. So, I think the best thing to do is look like I want to steal the pot. I push all in. Eejit calls and I think to myself, "Please don't have a better Ace." Nope, eejit turns over Td7d. WHAT?? Eejit says in the chat, "I'm a little drunk now." I'm okay with that. And the hand holds up and I win the tournament.

WOOHOOO! This was the first league tourney I won. I've been getting deep in almost all of them, but I couldn't seem to crack that first place. I'm happy with my play. I lucked out a few times and the all important factor, I was getting good cards.

Banning US players

This has already been posted by Boobie Lover and talked about on the Talking Poker Forum, but even though I'm a Canadian poker player, I'm sure it will have a huge impact on me as well.

Party and Stars are probably THE biggest poker sites out there. And the reason they are big is due to the number of US poker players they have. I can't imagine what it will be like if all the american players disappear on these sites. If this happens I can see it being very hard to find a table to play at online, well actually, there will probably be lots of tables, but they will all be empty. Sure, us Canadians and Europeans are still playing, but our numbers just don't compare.

Well, we will have to wait and see once the storm clears.

Quad Nines

Although, I decided not to join the league, I played in the opening league game tonight. I registered just as the first hand gets dealt and what do I see before me? The kiss of death, pocket kings. Well, I think to myself, here's to going out first hand. Surprisingly enough, my all in on a rag flop gets my opponent to fold and I jump to an early chip lead.

Later in the tournament, I get dealt pocket nines in the SB. I had actually been dealt a few raising hands in the SB prior to this hand, so I raise as I figure New Guy who is sitting in the BB, might think I'm just stealing. He calls and amazingly, I flop two nines. That's right, quads on the flop. I check, he bets. Turn I check, he checks--damn I was hoping for another bet or push. River I have to bet out. He folds and I have to show.

Then with only five people left, I'm dealt AJo in EP. Now the final table has been agressive pre-flop. There was rarely a flop seen since almost every hand, the first person to enter the pot, entered it with a raise. I raise, but Boobie re-raises me all-in. Now, I know he is quite capable of of re-raising with a broad range of hands. I'm pretty sure I'm not dominated. So, I decide I'm okay with risking the tourney on this hand. Well, Boobie flips over pockets nines. I flop a J, but he catches a 9 on that same flop. Not good for me. Funny thing, the turn gives him the fourth nine.

Early in the game, I win with quad nines only to be eliminated later in the game by quad nines.

Back to Playing

Well, I'm back playing poker. Not a lot and actually, not tournaments either. I haven't deposited any money, but someone was offering $50 on Stars for depositing in a sports book. So I did that and then withdrew the money to Neteller. Then, yesterday, Poker.com offered a 100% reload bonus.

So, I was able to deposit $60 in total there and will slowly grind my way to getting an additional $60 from the bonus.

I played a few hands last night. It was NL since all their Limit tables were full. It wasn't that exciting. Basically, I folded my hands for about 3 orbits until I was dealt AA in the cut-off. There were 3 limpers in front of me, so I raise. Only about 4xBB, I should have raised more, but I guess I was expecting too much from the table to notice this was the first hand I had played since sitting at the table. I, of course, get four callers. Lovely, I didn't narrow the field at all. The flop comes 865, two are spades. Neither of my aces are a spade. Although, not too bad of a board, at $25NL, there are plenty of donkeys that will call a raise with hands that could have hit it. There is a min bet from the first position, a couple of folds and a caller. I, of coure, pot raise it. It's the only way to see where I am. Both players call--Great. The turn is and eight, I forget which suit, but it wasn't a spade. All I'm thinking is one of them has to have an 8. But they both check it to me. This was tough, do I bet or check? I bet half the pot, thinking if one of them move all in on the river, depending on the card, it would be very hard for me to call that. Fortunately, both folded and I scoop the pot. And that was it for me, Lost was on last night and it was time to watch some TV.

Amusing

While surfing I came across +EV. It's an amusing comic about poker. I've read a few of them and they weren't bad. Good enough to start reading on a regular basis, but I wouldn't cry if he stopped creating them.

Break's Over

So, it's been a month since I decided to take a break from poker. I'm glad I did it. It was needed and I think I feel better about my poker game. When I get back to playing, I don't think I'm going to play as much before I stopped. I think I will also go back to playing tournaments more. I enjoy them and have been quit successful as well.

Next decision is do I deposit more money? I have a few dollars spread throughout a few sites. Some sites won't let you withdraw the change. I also have approximately $25 in Neteller. Not much of a bankroll, but that's what I started with when I first began playing for money.

I also think I should start posting HHs more on TalkingPoker. It's really the best way to improve my game and I never did it enough in the first place. I just never know which ones I should post, which would create a good discussion.

Well, back to playing poker, maybe. I haven't even really felt like playing the last week. The only time, I think of the game, is when Rob opens up a table at Party.

Talking Poker Radio

Well, I'm willing to shill for Rob.

He's just launched a new side-project, in conjuction with the Talking Poker forum. It's called Talking Poker Radio and he's hoping it will be a weekly podcast bringing you the latest in forum news, poker news and gossip, and poker strategy from around the internet. You can download the first episode by visiting the forum and looking for the Talking Poker Radio thread. It should be right at the top.

There will soon be a RSS feed up that you can subscribe to using iTunes or your choice of Podcast aggregator as well.

Article

Since this was both poker related and interesting, I figured I would post this article here.

Clicky.

New Look

Well, since I'm not playing poker all day now and I was looking for something to do, I decided to update my blog. My page should no longer be broken in IE. If you use IE and see anything amiss, please leave a comment, I'll try and fix it.

I've also switched templates. Since I'm making changes, I might as well, change everything. I like the new template, but Rob says he prefers the old one. What does everyone else think?

Taking a Break

I've been having a really bad run of cards lately and losing quite a bit of money due to suck outs. Since this was pissing me off to no end and I've been playing poker non stop for a year now, I decided I would take a break. I have qualified for a couple freerolls at Poker.com for Wednesday and Sunday this week, so I will play in those, but other than that, no poker for a month (at least). I've withdrawn my entire bankroll from all online poker sites. I'm even moving that bankroll back into our bank account from Neteller. That way I have no way of depositing.

I'm hoping a break will do me good and clear my head. I also hope to make sure that I'm not addicted to the game. Hopefully, I don't struggle to not play, but if I do, I have Rob to kick me in the ass to smarten me up.

IE is crap

Ok, so I didn't realize until I tried pulling up my site at work, but in Internet Explorer my site is slightly broken. All the links to the right have been pushed to the very bottom after all my posts. I think it has to do with where I've put the google ads. I'm not going to worry about fixing it right now as once the WSOP is over, I'll be moving them back to the top of my page and things seem to work fine that way. So, if you are using IE, scroll down if you need the links or better yet, switch to Firefox, it's a much better browser.

Too Much Tilt

Ok, so as you are aware, I've been playing 25c/50c Limit at Poker.com. I started out well, I was up $25 in about 2 days. Which for me is really good. Then I quickly lost that profit in one session the next day. Alot of it was variance. If I'd catch trips, someone would have the case card with a better kicker. If I would catch a straight, the guy chasing a backdoor flush would complete on the river. But, I've come to realize the rest of the loss was due to tilt. I hate losing. I REALLY hate losing. Rob can attest to this. I am an extremely competitive person and in any game I play, I have to be the winner. I do realize that in poker you can't win every session, that it's the long term you have to think of. But man, when you play well and an idiot wins due to luck, it's hard not to get angry. I'm working on not tilting, but this last week has made me realize I have a long way to go. But, the good news is, if I do get better at not going on tilt, I will lose less and likely win more.

Recommendation

Okay, to all you bonus chasers out there, I have a site recommendation for you: Poker.com. Right now they have a 100% deposit bonus up to $100 and entry into a $500 freeroll for the next seven days. The freeroll has a pretty decent pay out. About 80 people play and top 10 pay out. First is $150. Rob started playing at this site before me and ended up winning $190 from just the freerolls alone. The bonus seems relatively easy to clear even at 25c/50c limit. And there seems to be quite a few fish. Alot of chasing and calling down with just a high card (and not always an ace). So far, at the 6-max tables I've joined the average stack is only about $5. And, if I'm able to make money at the 25c/50c tables, it can only be due to either variance or really bad players. :)

I've been thinking...

Ok, so last night, I finished clearing my "last" bonus at Doyle's Room. I say last in quotes as I do have some to clear still, but I gave up on Titan and Full Tilt. I just play too small of limits to make it worth while. As well, for whatever reason, I was losing more money than I would make in the bonus at both sites. If I ever get a bigger bankroll (not likely in the near future as I withdraw a lot of what I win to put in our bank account), I might go back if they have reload bonuses.

Although, working on these bonuses have really made me wonder. What is my true skill level at poker? At Doyle's Room, I would play mainly 10c/20c limit, but if no one was playing those stakes I would move down to 5c/10c. As an aside, you can tell how small the site is compared to others when at some times during the day there was no one playing 10c/20c limit. Anyway, when playing those limits, I would just cream them. A couple times I doubled my buy-in and I think I left down only once or twice(suckouts are fun! :) ). But playing at these limits, the bonus wasn't clearing very fast. It wasn't as tedious as at Full Tilt or Titan, in which I had to play 25c/50c, but still relatively slow. So, if I was up $10 or $15 I'd move up to 25c/50c limit. Yeah, that never worked well. Everytime I did, I'd lose that $10-$15 I just won at the lower levels. Grrr....

So what does this mean? Is my skill level set at 10c/20c right now? Should I keep trying 25c/50c? Even though it is costing me money? I don't know. I do know that I have to wait before trying again, the last attempt definitely put me on tilt at that level. I also wondering if I should go back to NL, I do prefer it to limit. But, with my bankroll, I couldn't even think of playing at a 25c/50c NL table. The safest limit would probably be 5c/10c or just pushing it at 10c/25c. Poker just sucks sometimes.

Final League Game

Well, I didn't end up making any points in last nights league game. My Queens ran into Kings and I was crippled. I did end up doubling up a couple times, but it just wasn't enough to stay in. I'm happy either way, as I still ended up getting enough points from the rest of the games to end up in the Tournament of Champions. So I've got a chance to win some money with this freeroll. And if not, I did a lot better in the league than I thought I would, so it shows that at least some of my poker winnings are due to skill rather than luck or variance.

Party Bonus

Party Poker was offering up another deposit bonus, so of course I took them up on their offer. I've built up my roll quite a bit from this bonus whoring, so I was able to deposit $140 for a $21 bonus. I just had to play 210 raked hands.

The first couple bonus' I had at Party, I was able to play at their beginner's tables. Well, it turns out, you can only play at those tables for a limited period of time and I guess my time has run out. So I had to chose between 0.50c/$1 Limit or 0.10c/0.25c NL. I haven't really played at these limits before so I wasn't sure if I should try to clear the bonus or not. I didn't want to be playing with scared money.

I tried the limit first and within an hour ran through almost $10. Yeah, that wasn't good since my roll right now is just that $140 (I have almost $200 on Stars as well, but I need one buy-in for the league tourney and I've also decided to buy a share of TP for the WSOP, so unless TP cashes, that money is gone). So I figured I would move to the NL and just play super tight.

That seemed to work. I think it also helped that I was dealt QQ 5 times, AQ 3 times and KK 3 times within about 200 hands. And the key to getting those hands, is they actually held up! So when I finally cleared my bonus, I was also up $36. So that profitted me $57! Not bad for one day of playing poker.

New Addition

I've added a new feature to my blog. Since it's WSOP season I've added the headlines to the top of my page. All of the updates come from Pokerstars with their permission. Feel free to click on the links for updates.

Need a Cash Game Break

Today I decided to join a tourney at Stars. It was a $1.10 PL game. Funny thing, this is the first tourney (other than the league games) I've played in about a month. I've been bonus whoring and most sites those are easier to clear at cash tables.

I'm kinda tired of the cash games right now, so this is a good break for me. And the previous PL tourneys I've played I've done well on.

So I did make the money, but just barely. I seem to do well at the start of tourneys, then when it's getting close to the bubble, I go card dead so I can't really step it up and steal blinds. I was actually, almost eliminated with 20 left to go before the money (stupid play on my part) but was able to claw my way back and make it to the money. But, I still wasn't catching many cards. Finally got eliminated in 33rd, for a whole $2.40 pay-out! :)

The Dreaded Kiss of Death

Bah, eliminated in 7th in the league tourney all because of KK. This hand just never stands up to any hand it has dominated (although, I will admit he had a few outs on the flop). I'm just going to post the hand history, it's easier that way. Two hands later I push with big slick and get knocked out when someone with QT calls me.

PokerStars Game #5436106004: Tournament #26062027, $10+$1 Hold'em No Limit - Level IV (50/100) - 2006/07/02 - 22:21:30 (ET)
Table '26062027 2' 9-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 2: eeejit101 (3300 in chips)
Seat 3: JDpoker$tar7 (1460 in chips)
Seat 4: N1kita (2690 in chips)
Seat 6: mcash2 (2585 in chips)
Seat 7: PShabi (3015 in chips)
Seat 8: MathBabe (2535 in chips)
Seat 9: gemini_J (2415 in chips)
JDpoker$tar7: posts small blind 50
N1kita: posts big blind 100
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to N1kita [Kh Kc]
mcash2: folds
PShabi said, "that's the least of my concerns"
eeejit101 said, "i can get 130"
eeejit101 said, "it just wont happen"
PShabi said, "I need to beat eej, decoder"
PShabi: calls 100
MathBabe: folds
gemini_J: calls 100
eeejit101: folds
JDpoker$tar7: calls 50
N1kita: raises 300 to 400
PShabi said, "mean, mb, and rr are chasing me"
PShabi: calls 300
gemini_J: calls 300
JDpoker$tar7: folds
*** FLOP *** [4h 8h 6d]
PShabi said, "yep"
PShabi said, "nik too"
N1kita: bets 800
PShabi: folds
eeejit101 said, "then he wants me in for as long as possible surely"
PShabi said, "I'm worried about TOC"
gemini_J: raises 1215 to 2015 and is all-in
N1kita: calls 1215
*** TURN *** [4h 8h 6d] [7d]
PShabi said, "and possibly top 4, that'll take at least a win and another cash probably"
*** RIVER *** [4h 8h 6d 7d] [Qh]
eeejit101 said, "ouch"
*** SHOW DOWN ***
N1kita: shows [Kh Kc] (a pair of Kings)
gemini_J: shows [5d 4d] (a straight, Four to Eight)
gemini_J collected 5330 from pot
mcash2 said, "i missed too many games"
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 5330 | Rake 0
Board [4h 8h 6d 7d Qh]
Seat 2: eeejit101 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: JDpoker$tar7 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 4: N1kita (big blind) showed [Kh Kc] and lost with a pair of Kings
Seat 6: mcash2 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: PShabi folded on the Flop
Seat 8: MathBabe folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: gemini_J showed [5d 4d] and won (5330) with a straight, Four to Eight

Canada Day Home Game

Rob and I hosted another home game tonight. As usual, it was a $10 freeze out tournament. And since it was also a holiday for us Canadians, we also hosted a BBQ before the game got started. The food was plentiful and great. Hot dogs, sausages, hamburgers. Potato and bean salad, caesar salad. Corn on the cob and deviled eggs. We fed our friends well.

The tournament itself didn't last long for me. I ended up being the second one out. Unfortunately, I went all in with was I considered to be the best hand, but turned out I had been trapped (although, it was an unintentional trap) by my opponent. A min-raise in MP gets called by the button and myself in the SB with KJ. The flop came rag, rag J. I wasn't worried about AJ because the initial raiser wouldn't min raise with that hand (his min raises were a weak attempt to steal). I bet about half the pot and both the raiser and button call. When the turn came another rag, I knew I needed to make a move. I was out of position and if the min-raiser had a A, K or Q he would call to the river on smaller bets to try and catch a pair. The button was a tight player but he sometimes over values hands like QJ or suited cards. I decide to push, sure that if either call, I will have the best hand. The raiser folds and the button asks how much I have. So not an instant call. In fact, he was determining what his stack was going to be if he lost. So, before I state his cards, I did almost get him to fold. So, knowing that, guess what his hand was.....


Well, if you guessed QQ, you were right! When he didn't insta-call there was no way I would have thought he had an over pair. I dunno maybe it means I'm either a really good player or a really bad player, but if I had an over pair to that flop, I wouldn't pause to call. Anyway, my hand doesn't improve and he goes on to take second in the tourney. At least he put my chips to good use.

As for Rob, he won the whole thing. So that makes up for my not making any money AGAIN in our home game. This better not turn into the norm. I liked it much better when Rob and I both made it to the money pretty much every game.

TPFL II: Game 17

Well, I came in second again. I'm actually surprised I made it that far, considering Monday morning I woke up sick and have been getting steadily worse as time passes. While playing, I would be struck with fits of coughing and my head was throbbing. I was also extremely tired. I wanted to nap in the afternoon before the game, but my body didn't seem to want to co-operate.

Even with all that, I feel I played a good game. At final table, I got seated to the left of TP. At first, I was worried. Last time that happened, he kept stealing my blinds and I couldn't defend (actually, I wasn't defending well). This time, I did a much better job of fighting back and even doubled up off him once because of it.

Head's up didn't last long again. This time it was against Quint. I was short stacked yet again. I gotta figure out where I need to change my play here to get a better stack going into the final two. Quint had been playing super aggressive even during final three, so I knew yet again, that I would have to find a hand and push with it. I folded my SB the first hand. Second hand I was dealt 56s. Quint raises and I push. He called and flipped over Q8o. I did end up flopping a 5, but he caught an 8 on the turn. That eliminated me in second.

This means I finished in the money and because of a bigger turnout this game, quite a few league points. I'm not quite in the top four yet, but 4th, 5th and 6th (me) all have points in the 140s. Third has about 160. So all I need to do is get at least 20 points in one more game (and the other to not get any) and I'm in the top 4!!

Oh and Robbie Robb also finished in the money last night. He came in third. This means for at least the next two tournies, I don't have to transfer him the buy-in!

TPFL II: Game 16

Ok, I've made points in the last two league games. This one and the last one. The last league kinda frustrated me. I was doing really well, and on my way to win, when I made a stupid call against de-coder, to end up out in fourth.

I definitely made up for it this game. Unfortunately, the field was much smaller, being scheduled for a Saturday. I made it to second place. I know I played well, but I can't believe I made it, I think that being there was only 7 players really helped. I was massively card dead for most of the game. I was running poker tracker during the game, but my VPIP didn't end up in the double digits until about 3 or 4 of us were left.

I knew when I ended up HU, it wasn't likely that I'd win. I needed a couple double ups as I only had about 1400 in chips and of course, eej had the rest. First hand I was dealt QTo. HU, I figure this isn't a bad hand and decide to push with it. It was funny when eej flipped AA. Of course, he gets dealt the best starting hand in our first hand of HU when I need to make a move as soon as possible. Oh well. Second is still good. I will just have to keep trying for that first place and it'll be better when it's a bigger field of players.

WBCOOP

Played in the Blogger Championship today. Started out okay. Kept my stack size up. Then was able to eliminate someone after the first break. Held my stack at well over average for a while. Then after second break, dumped a lot of chips on a steal. Because of that, had to go in push mode for a while and try to double up. Mostly getting folds to my all in bets, but I'm okay with that. My stack started slowly creeping up, but still not ahead of the blinds. I then pushed with K7s and was called by JJ. He caught a J I caught two 7s. His boat beat my trips. Out 313th.

Bonus Whoring

I've been chasing bonuses a lot lately. I had an existing bonus at Ultimate Bet and have been seeing what I can do with clearing it at the micro limits there. I've got two at Titan, a regular reload and a reload for not playing there in a while. I started clearing it, then Party offered one. Since the Titan one expires later than the Party one, I've pulled my money from there and have since taken and completed the party one.

I also went to Absolute Poker and received a sign up bonus there. I don't think I will clear it though. I didn't realize when I deposited that the minimum rake for points is $0.50. To get a rake that big means at least a $10 pot and that means playing stakes a little too high for me. Even at Titan where I need a rake of $0.25 is kinda pushing my bankroll a bit (and my comfort zone). I've actually taken my money out of Absolute for now, I might go back if I keep doing well at these bonuses and build up a little more money. But it also taught me to check poker sites bonus completion rules before depositing.

Right now I also deposited at Doyle's Room for their bonus. I like their point system. It's called Action Points. These points build up based on the action that occurs during the hand. Which means the more you bet or raise the more the action points. And then at the end of the those points are split up and given to the players that participated. It also means I can play micro limits and clear my bonus. It's not as fast or as easy as Party, but it's a lot better than playing stakes that need a high rake. Plus, from what I could find, the bonus doesn't expire, so I can take my time completing it.

This bonus thing is actually working out pretty well. I've built up my bonus bankroll (I've got money in Stars that I've decided not to touch for bonus hunting) from $50 to $120. Plus I have about $150 in pending bonuses right now. And, the more I earn, the bigger bonuses I can get at other sites.

A Little Fun

Played some $.10/.25 NL 6-max with Eejit and Bunny today. They are both from TP.com. I definitely playing a little poker with a few forum members. It always feels more casual and of course, there is always a little more chat. I ended up losing one buy-in. I took a beat when my TPTK ran into an over pair. I was short and the next hand I was dealt 22 in the BB. Eejit raised so I decided I would race. He flipped over AQ. On the flop came both an A and a Q, so I busted.

Now this is one level up than I usually play. Previously, I've only played the 5/10 cent NL tables. But, since I was having fun, I was okay with losing some money to the cause (check eejit's post on the forum, he was trying to see if he could build $100 to $400 in a day). Fortunately, I later won a few good pots and doubled my buy-in. Woot, now I'm even! I actually had a couple errands to run, so bailed from the table at that point.

TPFL II: Game 10

Made it to the money last night. Only third place, but I'm happy. The points I received also boosted me a bit in the overall rankings. I'm now 6th. If I can take one of these games down, I'll have a good chance of finishing top 4 for the league. Which means winning some league money buy-in! That's just a secondary goal though. As I'm not as skilled at poker as most of the other people in the league, it's very hard for me to do well in the tournaments. My first goal is to make at least the Tournament of Champions(TOC). I think my poker skills are enough that I can do that well.