Just got unstuck a little bit I guess.
I just won a $3 SNG, now I am only down a little from last night.
It really felt good. Heads up he was ahead and I called a raise for about 1/5 of my stack with 7c8c. The flop was a great 747 so I checked knowing that he was aggressive in position. Surely enough, he raised me almost all-in with AT and I won the big pot by turning a full house.
Funny thing is that we were all-in ATC the very next hand and I got another full house to finish him off.
Weird how I can't handle losses really. If I don't cash in two SNGs in a row, it gets to me very easily and I start questioning my game.
Obviously I do make stupid mistakes a lot of the times but sometimes it's just about losing coin flips and I suck at taking it well.
I lost this $6 SNG last night and then this $3 SNG so that hurt a lot.
Even though really a $6 SNG is nothing, and clearly I do have the bankroll to play $10 SNGs, but I don't do it because I hate losing.
They say to be successful at poker, you need to have no regard whatsover for money (or have plenty of it). Well that is not the case with me right now LOL.
I will keep grinding the $3 SNGs (taking a shot above from time to time) before I feel comfortable with moving up.
ronee
Thursday, May 29, 2008
How fortunes change
Ah well, my run is over.
I played 4 SNGs and failed to cash in all of them. I actually bubbled 2 where if I had not made bonehead decisions I could have cashed.
Mainly one....T9 in SB I get raised by BB and decide to see a flop and only have 1500 behind while SS had less. Flop is 9Jx and I bet 400 and he instaraises me 800. For some reason I thought the preflop raise was stealing, so I shoved and it turns out he had KJ. GG.
I think I ran into Aces twice and just now ran TT into KK to end my tournament life. UTG Raised 3xBB to 600 and I isntashoved. Too bad, the CL in the cutoff instacalled and I was dead.
One interesting hand though when 4 people called a raise to 90 (blinds 15/30) and I decide to see a flop with 53o with just 60 more for a pot of $450+
I flop 53K with two clubs.
Three of us shove the flop, one had the nut draw, the other KQ.
I wasn't really seating comfortable, until I got runner runner quad 5s to seal the deal LOL.
Everybody was saying it was a beautiful hand.....ah luck sometimes. Even with that I failed to cash, card dead and missing flops.
I am hoping to rebound tonight. I need to really think about my decisions and concentrate on click-tells which I don't ever do.
My problem is that I always find hard to fold top pair (for example) when I have like 1/4 of my stack in there when I really should lay it down.
ronee
I played 4 SNGs and failed to cash in all of them. I actually bubbled 2 where if I had not made bonehead decisions I could have cashed.
Mainly one....T9 in SB I get raised by BB and decide to see a flop and only have 1500 behind while SS had less. Flop is 9Jx and I bet 400 and he instaraises me 800. For some reason I thought the preflop raise was stealing, so I shoved and it turns out he had KJ. GG.
I think I ran into Aces twice and just now ran TT into KK to end my tournament life. UTG Raised 3xBB to 600 and I isntashoved. Too bad, the CL in the cutoff instacalled and I was dead.
One interesting hand though when 4 people called a raise to 90 (blinds 15/30) and I decide to see a flop with 53o with just 60 more for a pot of $450+
I flop 53K with two clubs.
Three of us shove the flop, one had the nut draw, the other KQ.
I wasn't really seating comfortable, until I got runner runner quad 5s to seal the deal LOL.
Everybody was saying it was a beautiful hand.....ah luck sometimes. Even with that I failed to cash, card dead and missing flops.
I am hoping to rebound tonight. I need to really think about my decisions and concentrate on click-tells which I don't ever do.
My problem is that I always find hard to fold top pair (for example) when I have like 1/4 of my stack in there when I really should lay it down.
ronee
Monday, May 26, 2008
Winningest PokerStars Month to date
I was 2-tabling a $3 10-man SNG and $3 18-man SNG.
Didn't have much early on, I basically fell down to 1k just by folding having nothing to play with, and if I did I would miss wide.
I busted out of the 10-man on a coin flip, a pocket pair versus overs and he hit the flop.
I got lucky twice in the 18-man. Once with JJ vs AQ, he hit two pairs on the flop, but I hit runner-runner clubs to complete my flush.
Then when I am down to 800 UTG at the full final table, I pick up Aces (talk about a good time) and shove very innocently, I get two callers and triple up to above average stack.
heads-up he had a 4-to-1 chip advantage on me, I pick up A9 on the button and limp. Flop is KK5 and I take a stab after he checks with 1/3 of my stack and he raises me VERY quick. There was a club draw on board but I have no clue what he had to be honest.
I do not think he had a draw, otherwise he would have shoved me.
He could be restealing me because my bluff was obvious, people wouldn't bet a King there in position or I could have a 5. But his reraise was so quick that I have a hard time believing he thought about this, unless he knew what I was gonna do before checking and planned on re-raising no matter what I did.
My guess is he had a King or a 5. But either way, my large bet in position was a bad idea with that board, I should have checked or bet minimum.
I also picked up AA again early in the heads up session and checked until the river but he never bet.
I finally had to shove 97 with 3 big blinds left and he called with K7 to bust me.
I think I picked up Aces maybe 3 times tonight, good for a +$10 night.
This has officially become my winningest month on Stars lol, +$60 while I barely played 12 SNGs.
I have a great 157% ROI in May, with just Stars SNGs.
ronee
Didn't have much early on, I basically fell down to 1k just by folding having nothing to play with, and if I did I would miss wide.
I busted out of the 10-man on a coin flip, a pocket pair versus overs and he hit the flop.
I got lucky twice in the 18-man. Once with JJ vs AQ, he hit two pairs on the flop, but I hit runner-runner clubs to complete my flush.
Then when I am down to 800 UTG at the full final table, I pick up Aces (talk about a good time) and shove very innocently, I get two callers and triple up to above average stack.
heads-up he had a 4-to-1 chip advantage on me, I pick up A9 on the button and limp. Flop is KK5 and I take a stab after he checks with 1/3 of my stack and he raises me VERY quick. There was a club draw on board but I have no clue what he had to be honest.
I do not think he had a draw, otherwise he would have shoved me.
He could be restealing me because my bluff was obvious, people wouldn't bet a King there in position or I could have a 5. But his reraise was so quick that I have a hard time believing he thought about this, unless he knew what I was gonna do before checking and planned on re-raising no matter what I did.
My guess is he had a King or a 5. But either way, my large bet in position was a bad idea with that board, I should have checked or bet minimum.
I also picked up AA again early in the heads up session and checked until the river but he never bet.
I finally had to shove 97 with 3 big blinds left and he called with K7 to bust me.
I think I picked up Aces maybe 3 times tonight, good for a +$10 night.
This has officially become my winningest month on Stars lol, +$60 while I barely played 12 SNGs.
I have a great 157% ROI in May, with just Stars SNGs.
ronee
Thursday, May 22, 2008
My best performance (so far).
Man, I hope this keeps up, I feel really confident about my game.
I was bored at worked and fired up $0.10 360-man SNG on Stars. You read that correctly, 10 cents.
I didn't expect much, just hoping to get lucky and have a shove fest early, because this is what those SNGs are for right?
Well it didn't go out like that. There was a 4-way all-in on the first hand (AK guy won) but after that, quiet....Man, everybody was just serious, limping in and no more shoves preflop. That was really weird!
The funny hand is when I fell down to 1k and pick up AA and play the raise, re-raise game with another dude, and he shoves me AA as well LOL. Split pot.
The notable hands are:
-AhKh vs QQ
I flop a heart and have running hearts to stay alive. This is where I got truly lucky and starting running from there.
-JJ vs AQ shoved on a low flop and I hold
-AA vs 55 (man I seem to pick up a lot of Aces lately, or maybe I am playing too much poker)
-KK vs 44 AIPF
-88 vs AK at the final table, and the board runs Q7A 8 K
whew
I just tried to stay alive at the final table. Finally we were heads up against a chip leader which amazingly started the final table at 11k.
Heads up, he was towering me with 500k vs 40k!!!! He went on a sick heater to say the least.
Luckily the third guy busts first and I shove my first HU hand with K4 vs A9 and he flops an Ace.
Well, it was good, $0.10 and play 2hrs to get a measly $6.
but I guess it's a VERY good return of investment LOL.
It's sad that I save my best performance ever for this super-micro SNG, but my confidence is riding high and I think I will keep going.
Wish me luck.
ronee
I was bored at worked and fired up $0.10 360-man SNG on Stars. You read that correctly, 10 cents.
I didn't expect much, just hoping to get lucky and have a shove fest early, because this is what those SNGs are for right?
Well it didn't go out like that. There was a 4-way all-in on the first hand (AK guy won) but after that, quiet....Man, everybody was just serious, limping in and no more shoves preflop. That was really weird!
The funny hand is when I fell down to 1k and pick up AA and play the raise, re-raise game with another dude, and he shoves me AA as well LOL. Split pot.
The notable hands are:
-AhKh vs QQ
I flop a heart and have running hearts to stay alive. This is where I got truly lucky and starting running from there.
-JJ vs AQ shoved on a low flop and I hold
-AA vs 55 (man I seem to pick up a lot of Aces lately, or maybe I am playing too much poker)
-KK vs 44 AIPF
-88 vs AK at the final table, and the board runs Q7A 8 K
whew
I just tried to stay alive at the final table. Finally we were heads up against a chip leader which amazingly started the final table at 11k.
Heads up, he was towering me with 500k vs 40k!!!! He went on a sick heater to say the least.
Luckily the third guy busts first and I shove my first HU hand with K4 vs A9 and he flops an Ace.
Well, it was good, $0.10 and play 2hrs to get a measly $6.
but I guess it's a VERY good return of investment LOL.
It's sad that I save my best performance ever for this super-micro SNG, but my confidence is riding high and I think I will keep going.
Wish me luck.
ronee
I <3 PokerStars
Since my self-imposed exclusion on Full Tilt I have been playing primarily on Stars now and will continue to do so for a while, except for those bored times where I will 6-table $1 SNGs for fun while watching a movie.
I have been running good, cashed in 5 of my last 6 SNGs with two wins for a nice little run.
I know it won't last but let's just hope so. I just think that I am playing very solid (read: tighter) right now and getting good value on my hands and making great reads.
Oh yeah, we use a proxy server at work and I installed Proxifier to be able to play poker (why can't major poker rooms implement proxy support?). It worked for everything but lately PokerStars doesn't work anymore, maybe the network admin blocked the port or PokerStars had some kind of update.
I was browsing through the web and turns out you can mess up with the user config file to tell PokerStars to use another port, which I did and it works!
I promptly jumped in a free FPP qualifier for the Hundred-Grand (will obviously trade the T$ if I won that) and even forgot to set my settings, prefered seats and table themes (the default theme is an insult to God).
Anyway, it was an all-in fest and I decided to shove a Q98 flop on a raise with middle pair and a flush draw. He had JT for the flopped nuts and I missed my draw, good fun, for free.
I also read that you can configure PokerStars to use a proxy through the same file but I still need to figure this one out.
laters
ronee
I have been running good, cashed in 5 of my last 6 SNGs with two wins for a nice little run.
I know it won't last but let's just hope so. I just think that I am playing very solid (read: tighter) right now and getting good value on my hands and making great reads.
Oh yeah, we use a proxy server at work and I installed Proxifier to be able to play poker (why can't major poker rooms implement proxy support?). It worked for everything but lately PokerStars doesn't work anymore, maybe the network admin blocked the port or PokerStars had some kind of update.
I was browsing through the web and turns out you can mess up with the user config file to tell PokerStars to use another port, which I did and it works!
I promptly jumped in a free FPP qualifier for the Hundred-Grand (will obviously trade the T$ if I won that) and even forgot to set my settings, prefered seats and table themes (the default theme is an insult to God).
Anyway, it was an all-in fest and I decided to shove a Q98 flop on a raise with middle pair and a flush draw. He had JT for the flopped nuts and I missed my draw, good fun, for free.
I also read that you can configure PokerStars to use a proxy through the same file but I still need to figure this one out.
laters
ronee
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
MY WORST BAD BEAT EVER = BLOG POST
Man....Full Tilt has my number again.
I played this 45-man SNG and was completely card-dead...except for JJ where I raised 3.5xBB and got FOUR callers and a A-high flop. Amazingly, after lots of min. bets, I still come out the winner, nobody had an Ace.
After LOTS of hands where I miss flops completely I am down to 900 chips and pick up AcAd in the SB.
There's a limper UTG, I raise 2xBB to 240 and BB calls. UTG then insta-shoves to my delight. I do too and BB folds.
He shows the best hand possible for me! AsKc!!
the flop comes 3d8s5d. At this point he has 0.3%....ZERO POINT THREE PERCENT CHANCE OF BEATING ME!!!
What happens?!?!?!?!?! Turn Ks, river Kd
GG FULL TILT.
Man I have seen some incredible shits on this site, more than any other to be honest, but that may be the last straw for me. PokerStars is a way better site in my opinion.
I posted it on P5 just to get some consolation...or maybe somebody will just slap me, tell me to get real and keep playing....that's poker!
http://www.pocketfives.com/poker-forums/12/MY-WORST-BAD-BEAT-EVER-_3D00_-FORUM-POST-2902266
ronee
I played this 45-man SNG and was completely card-dead...except for JJ where I raised 3.5xBB and got FOUR callers and a A-high flop. Amazingly, after lots of min. bets, I still come out the winner, nobody had an Ace.
After LOTS of hands where I miss flops completely I am down to 900 chips and pick up AcAd in the SB.
There's a limper UTG, I raise 2xBB to 240 and BB calls. UTG then insta-shoves to my delight. I do too and BB folds.
He shows the best hand possible for me! AsKc!!
the flop comes 3d8s5d. At this point he has 0.3%....ZERO POINT THREE PERCENT CHANCE OF BEATING ME!!!
What happens?!?!?!?!?! Turn Ks, river Kd
GG FULL TILT.
Man I have seen some incredible shits on this site, more than any other to be honest, but that may be the last straw for me. PokerStars is a way better site in my opinion.
I posted it on P5 just to get some consolation...or maybe somebody will just slap me, tell me to get real and keep playing....that's poker!
http://www.pocketfives.com/poker-forums/12/MY-WORST-BAD-BEAT-EVER-_3D00_-FORUM-POST-2902266
ronee
Monday, May 19, 2008
H.O.R.S.E.
Second post in one day, woohoo!
So instead of playing NLHE, I noticed a H.O.R.S.E. table that missed one player, so I sat in. I wasn't some kind of impulsive move, I wanted to play a H.O.R.S.E. SNG for a while now, and I just decided to go with it.
Keep in mind, I never played anything other than NLHE, and Omaha Hi (which isn't even played in H.O.R.S.E.) in play money. So basically no, I didn't know any of the games lol.
Here are some thoughts on each round.
HOLDEM
God, limit hold'em is boring. It is a lot tougher to get a read on your opponents, since there is no bet-sizing to analyze. You basically just bet your top pair to the river hoping he doesn't catch it. It's equally hard to bluff your opponents because nobody will fold to you with only one more bet to go.
It does get a lot more interesting when the blinds go way up but other than that I don't plan on playing limit hold'em anywhere else.
OMAHA 8
It's probably the toughest game when it comes to hand selection. And I prefer Omaha Hi much better. What I realized is that the low hand must be used only in case of emergency lol, such as in when you miss your draw on the flop.
This is probably where I lost most of my chips, chasing a low hoping for a split while the guy had the absolute nut straight. A, 2, 3, 4, 5.
RAZZ
This is fun!
I mean, it's so weird to chase the worst hand that I almost found it enjoyable LOL.
It's pretty easy to play, start with low cards, and end with low cards. Your up cards allow you to make a bluff from time to time.
STUD HI
This is probably the toughest game. Other than split cards or a pocket pair, it's extremely hard for me to pick a starting hand. Plus you only get cards one by one (instead of a flop) so you keep chasing for a lot of rounds.
This game gets expensive very quick unless you hit. And the worst is you have to keep track of your opponents' up cards (and of course the folded hands) to know which of cards you need are live. It also helps figuring out if your opponent is on a draw or not.
STUD 8
Forget what I just said, THIS is the toughest game.
Everything I said about stud hi is there, and now there is a low hand. OMG, this gets confusing very quick XO
Oh and btw, I finished 7th in that game.
ronee
PS: I will definitely play another H.O.R.S.E. SNG in the near future. It's a nice change of pace from NLHE and I recommend that people do it from time to time just for a break from 'poker', while still playing 'poker'. :D
So instead of playing NLHE, I noticed a H.O.R.S.E. table that missed one player, so I sat in. I wasn't some kind of impulsive move, I wanted to play a H.O.R.S.E. SNG for a while now, and I just decided to go with it.
Keep in mind, I never played anything other than NLHE, and Omaha Hi (which isn't even played in H.O.R.S.E.) in play money. So basically no, I didn't know any of the games lol.
Here are some thoughts on each round.
HOLDEM
God, limit hold'em is boring. It is a lot tougher to get a read on your opponents, since there is no bet-sizing to analyze. You basically just bet your top pair to the river hoping he doesn't catch it. It's equally hard to bluff your opponents because nobody will fold to you with only one more bet to go.
It does get a lot more interesting when the blinds go way up but other than that I don't plan on playing limit hold'em anywhere else.
OMAHA 8
It's probably the toughest game when it comes to hand selection. And I prefer Omaha Hi much better. What I realized is that the low hand must be used only in case of emergency lol, such as in when you miss your draw on the flop.
This is probably where I lost most of my chips, chasing a low hoping for a split while the guy had the absolute nut straight. A, 2, 3, 4, 5.
RAZZ
This is fun!
I mean, it's so weird to chase the worst hand that I almost found it enjoyable LOL.
It's pretty easy to play, start with low cards, and end with low cards. Your up cards allow you to make a bluff from time to time.
STUD HI
This is probably the toughest game. Other than split cards or a pocket pair, it's extremely hard for me to pick a starting hand. Plus you only get cards one by one (instead of a flop) so you keep chasing for a lot of rounds.
This game gets expensive very quick unless you hit. And the worst is you have to keep track of your opponents' up cards (and of course the folded hands) to know which of cards you need are live. It also helps figuring out if your opponent is on a draw or not.
STUD 8
Forget what I just said, THIS is the toughest game.
Everything I said about stud hi is there, and now there is a low hand. OMG, this gets confusing very quick XO
Oh and btw, I finished 7th in that game.
ronee
PS: I will definitely play another H.O.R.S.E. SNG in the near future. It's a nice change of pace from NLHE and I recommend that people do it from time to time just for a break from 'poker', while still playing 'poker'. :D
Well played, Full Tilt
I love PokerStars for one reason, they give you tournament summaries (they email them to you when u ask) so that you can include them in PokerTracker. And it's great thing because in FT you had to input the results manually.
But I think Full Tilt just outdid PS, barely LOL.
I was browsing through the HH folder of Full Tilt, and noticed some Summaries text files! wohoooo! I think one of the recent updates (btw, WHEN will poker sites give release notes about the updates so we know what they do!?) added that feature and it's great.
It's cool because unlinke PS you don't have to download them, but it lacks the names of the players that finished ahead of you in the tournament. Since I am guessing it is generated right after you bust, and not when you close the tourney lobby.
Anyway, for now only PokerTracker 3 can read those files and I am anxiously waiting for it.
I actually installed it but I don't have a registration code yet.
On a side note, my work internet has been holding up good so I decided to play a $1 Turbo SNG on Tilt and was running good early on. I turned a full house, flopped a straight and would have turned another full house if not for a big c-bet against my smallish pocket pair.
I did get some value for those hands, but unfortunately, they didn't have much.
But then the CL raises 3xBB and I pick up AQ and me and another player call with me in position.
Flop AK7 they both check. I pot bet about 800, and CL raises me really quick. His range was so wide there, from AT to AK. I decide to call which commits me and we both shove the turn.
He shows 77, GG. Too bad, I was playing well until then.
After lunch I might launch a $1 45-man so I will have something to do for this afternoon :)
ronee
But I think Full Tilt just outdid PS, barely LOL.
I was browsing through the HH folder of Full Tilt, and noticed some Summaries text files! wohoooo! I think one of the recent updates (btw, WHEN will poker sites give release notes about the updates so we know what they do!?) added that feature and it's great.
It's cool because unlinke PS you don't have to download them, but it lacks the names of the players that finished ahead of you in the tournament. Since I am guessing it is generated right after you bust, and not when you close the tourney lobby.
Anyway, for now only PokerTracker 3 can read those files and I am anxiously waiting for it.
I actually installed it but I don't have a registration code yet.
On a side note, my work internet has been holding up good so I decided to play a $1 Turbo SNG on Tilt and was running good early on. I turned a full house, flopped a straight and would have turned another full house if not for a big c-bet against my smallish pocket pair.
I did get some value for those hands, but unfortunately, they didn't have much.
But then the CL raises 3xBB and I pick up AQ and me and another player call with me in position.
Flop AK7 they both check. I pot bet about 800, and CL raises me really quick. His range was so wide there, from AT to AK. I decide to call which commits me and we both shove the turn.
He shows 77, GG. Too bad, I was playing well until then.
After lunch I might launch a $1 45-man so I will have something to do for this afternoon :)
ronee
Friday, May 16, 2008
A couple of thoughts
One last hand I forgot to mention in the $5 45-man SNG from last night.
On the bubble, I get JJ in the BB and have two decent stacked shovers in front of me. I think for a while and finally fold, reluctantly. Yes I wanted to make the money and that was part of the reason why I chickened out, since the loser was surely gonna bust before me.
They both showed AQ vs KJ, and the flop was JQQ, which would have given me a full house and the HUGE pot. I guess I can't be result oriented and it was a good fold, but it still stings somehow.
Also Full Tilt is weird like that. Man, we see the craziest hands, with KK vs AK, vs 77 AIPF and the board reading xx7xA. Or 99 vs 88 and an 8 hits. Or better yet, smaller kickers always pairing on the flop. I am curious and something looks a little off; I mean, it seems to me like the best hand never wins when all the money goes in before the flop.
We will see if that trend continues. I do agree that this is the game of poker, Where Crazy Things Happen. I have seen some incredible shit in live games too with lower kicker pairing on the river and stuff like that. Oh well, I think that feeling will go away when I play my next live game and see a one-outer hit and I will finally say (again) "well, online poker is not rigged"
Poker Tracker 3 came out and I am downloading it right now, plus it has a 30-day trial which is nice. I was curious about the price tag of the software, and I shocked to see that you had to pay $89.99 to use this software!
I think it's crazy and I am definitely NOT going to buy it. If it were $20 at least, I could consider buying a legitimate copy, but that price tag is pushing it, sorry.
ronee
On the bubble, I get JJ in the BB and have two decent stacked shovers in front of me. I think for a while and finally fold, reluctantly. Yes I wanted to make the money and that was part of the reason why I chickened out, since the loser was surely gonna bust before me.
They both showed AQ vs KJ, and the flop was JQQ, which would have given me a full house and the HUGE pot. I guess I can't be result oriented and it was a good fold, but it still stings somehow.
Also Full Tilt is weird like that. Man, we see the craziest hands, with KK vs AK, vs 77 AIPF and the board reading xx7xA. Or 99 vs 88 and an 8 hits. Or better yet, smaller kickers always pairing on the flop. I am curious and something looks a little off; I mean, it seems to me like the best hand never wins when all the money goes in before the flop.
We will see if that trend continues. I do agree that this is the game of poker, Where Crazy Things Happen. I have seen some incredible shit in live games too with lower kicker pairing on the river and stuff like that. Oh well, I think that feeling will go away when I play my next live game and see a one-outer hit and I will finally say (again) "well, online poker is not rigged"
Poker Tracker 3 came out and I am downloading it right now, plus it has a 30-day trial which is nice. I was curious about the price tag of the software, and I shocked to see that you had to pay $89.99 to use this software!
I think it's crazy and I am definitely NOT going to buy it. If it were $20 at least, I could consider buying a legitimate copy, but that price tag is pushing it, sorry.
ronee
I am so stupid, thank god!
Last night while watching Nouvelle Star I wanted to register for a $5 45-man SNG. When I got in, only 18 where registered, needless to say it took a while for it to fill up so I closed it and got into a $5 18-man SNG instead. So I start playing, and suddenly this other window pops up....and I am like, WTF??? Then I realized I forgot the unregister for the 45-man and was now left with two tables of $5 STTs....while watching TV, and being sick from a cold.
However, things went very well, I picked my spots and didn't get involved early in big pots.
I was able to flop a set and river a full house on the 45-man in a three handed play and tripled to 2nd place on the leaderboard with about 16 left which was great.
After that I had some memorable suckout, especially when we got ITM. Q4 vs QT and I spiked a 4. 88 vs 99 and I spiked an 8, great stuff. Unfortunately that didn't last and I was busted in 5th place for only $14.
On the 18-man I think I played pretty solid.
The only mistake I made was 4-handed while 2nd in chips. From the button folded to me, and blinds at 200-400 I shove AQ just to steal, but the BB instacalls with AK and flops AxK.
It probably doesn't matter whether I pushed or not because I was gonna do it on the flop anyway with that board.
Then that guy just starts running like god man! He rivers a straight AIPF-ATC with T7, flops a set, gets KK, and he went from short stack to second in chips.
Finally I was forced to go all-in with the huuuge blinds and bust in 4th for $9.
So I am surprised I made it this far in both and I will definitely play the $5 STTs again.
ronee
However, things went very well, I picked my spots and didn't get involved early in big pots.
I was able to flop a set and river a full house on the 45-man in a three handed play and tripled to 2nd place on the leaderboard with about 16 left which was great.
After that I had some memorable suckout, especially when we got ITM. Q4 vs QT and I spiked a 4. 88 vs 99 and I spiked an 8, great stuff. Unfortunately that didn't last and I was busted in 5th place for only $14.
On the 18-man I think I played pretty solid.
The only mistake I made was 4-handed while 2nd in chips. From the button folded to me, and blinds at 200-400 I shove AQ just to steal, but the BB instacalls with AK and flops AxK.
It probably doesn't matter whether I pushed or not because I was gonna do it on the flop anyway with that board.
Then that guy just starts running like god man! He rivers a straight AIPF-ATC with T7, flops a set, gets KK, and he went from short stack to second in chips.
Finally I was forced to go all-in with the huuuge blinds and bust in 4th for $9.
So I am surprised I made it this far in both and I will definitely play the $5 STTs again.
ronee
Thursday, May 15, 2008
One of the most frustrating SNGs ever!
I launched an SNG on Stars, and here is how the hands I played turned out.
I barely lasted 15 hands and busted first:
-first hand: I fold 83o and would have flopped two pairs.
-second hand: Fold 86o and would have flopped a set.
-blinds at 15/30 I have TT and raise, get called and have an AKx flop.
-pick up AA and raise 2.5xBB and get two callers. Flop has two diamonds and I get shoved, I call and he turns up a flush draw which hits on the river.
-I am down to 150 chips and shove the very next hand with A2o UTG, I flop and Ace to jump back up to 600.
-very next hand I fold J9o. Flop is QTx and think to myself "it would be funny if the turn was 8, that would be another monster I missed. And of course the EIGHT turns!
-Very next hand! I get 85o in BB, and the SB limps. Flop is Q98. Check, check. Turn 8. He shoves me, and I instacall! He shows K8!
WTF!!!!
ronee
I barely lasted 15 hands and busted first:
-first hand: I fold 83o and would have flopped two pairs.
-second hand: Fold 86o and would have flopped a set.
-blinds at 15/30 I have TT and raise, get called and have an AKx flop.
-pick up AA and raise 2.5xBB and get two callers. Flop has two diamonds and I get shoved, I call and he turns up a flush draw which hits on the river.
-I am down to 150 chips and shove the very next hand with A2o UTG, I flop and Ace to jump back up to 600.
-very next hand I fold J9o. Flop is QTx and think to myself "it would be funny if the turn was 8, that would be another monster I missed. And of course the EIGHT turns!
-Very next hand! I get 85o in BB, and the SB limps. Flop is Q98. Check, check. Turn 8. He shoves me, and I instacall! He shows K8!
WTF!!!!
ronee
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
End of the season
This is it, the basketball season is over, and it ended just like it started, with a big-ass whoopin'.
Again, we held on tight during the first half, trailing by a couple of points, and we just run out of gas and panic in the second half.
Those turnovers really beat us, and the other team reacted quickly, putting only 4 people on defense and leaving another player for the fast-break. That one guy probably got like 14 points just like that. Anyway, we got beat by 30pts and that was that. I guess it's possible we can do better next year since it was our first time playing together, and we never got the whole team together for even one game. This time it was 7 of us, including a girl.
I won't make it next year though, and I don't even think I'll get asked to be on the team haha.
I have so much going on at home and I am lacking some serious sleep as of late, including a headache that's been bothering me for 2 days now. That's part of the reason I haven't played poker at all during that time.
Right now I am looking forward to getting my gym routine back to where it was, and that means not missing a single session (I missed a lot of those because of basketball games) and also keep up with badminton on monday nights.
If I feel better tonight (sleepy at the moment) I will probably multi-table.
ronee
Again, we held on tight during the first half, trailing by a couple of points, and we just run out of gas and panic in the second half.
Those turnovers really beat us, and the other team reacted quickly, putting only 4 people on defense and leaving another player for the fast-break. That one guy probably got like 14 points just like that. Anyway, we got beat by 30pts and that was that. I guess it's possible we can do better next year since it was our first time playing together, and we never got the whole team together for even one game. This time it was 7 of us, including a girl.
I won't make it next year though, and I don't even think I'll get asked to be on the team haha.
I have so much going on at home and I am lacking some serious sleep as of late, including a headache that's been bothering me for 2 days now. That's part of the reason I haven't played poker at all during that time.
Right now I am looking forward to getting my gym routine back to where it was, and that means not missing a single session (I missed a lot of those because of basketball games) and also keep up with badminton on monday nights.
If I feel better tonight (sleepy at the moment) I will probably multi-table.
ronee
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
A little poker while watching movies
I watched several movies this week end.
Among them Juno (acclaimed), Alien vs. Predator Requiem, Bienvenue Chez les Ch'tis (critically acclaimed) and Supersize Me, which I have already seen before.
Well, except for Supersize Me which is a pretty fun movie, the rest pretty much sucked lol.
Juno is more of a made-for-tv movie, and AVP and Ch'tis just bombed. But guess what the good news is? They are good for playing poker since I tend not to the follow the storyline after a while.
Speaking of poker I played two SNGs on Stars and I finished 1st and 2nd respectively, good for $16. It's a good comeback from my disastrous live game, which I hope we will do again next week-end.
Not much interesting as far as hands go, I mainly went back to my roots, playing tight, and limping maybe 20% of my small blinds. I think it's working well right now, I realize that limping costs a lot of chips in the long run and forces me to shove earlier than I'd like.
I won't play tomorrow night since I have my last basketball game at 8pm. I have to say I am relieved that the season is over and we didn't make the playoffs.
It's been exhausting, and it was a commitment I shouldn't have made, I have so much other shit to take care of.
good night. I took a day off tomorrow.
ronee
Among them Juno (acclaimed), Alien vs. Predator Requiem, Bienvenue Chez les Ch'tis (critically acclaimed) and Supersize Me, which I have already seen before.
Well, except for Supersize Me which is a pretty fun movie, the rest pretty much sucked lol.
Juno is more of a made-for-tv movie, and AVP and Ch'tis just bombed. But guess what the good news is? They are good for playing poker since I tend not to the follow the storyline after a while.
Speaking of poker I played two SNGs on Stars and I finished 1st and 2nd respectively, good for $16. It's a good comeback from my disastrous live game, which I hope we will do again next week-end.
Not much interesting as far as hands go, I mainly went back to my roots, playing tight, and limping maybe 20% of my small blinds. I think it's working well right now, I realize that limping costs a lot of chips in the long run and forces me to shove earlier than I'd like.
I won't play tomorrow night since I have my last basketball game at 8pm. I have to say I am relieved that the season is over and we didn't make the playoffs.
It's been exhausting, and it was a commitment I shouldn't have made, I have so much other shit to take care of.
good night. I took a day off tomorrow.
ronee
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Live game gone horribly wrong
The live game could not have gone worse, as finished dead last!
Let me explain. I didn't pick up cards at all during the first two orbits and kept folding hands.
Finally, I get a decent hand, 8c9c and decide to check in the BB with one player limping.
The flop is a beautiful 5c6c2c.
The limper then bets a pot-sized bet, and I raise 1/5 of my stack hoping to take it down right there.
He thinks for a long time, and wonders what I have for about a minute, but he finally reraises me. I agonize but tell him I CAN'T fold this hand, it's impossible. At this point, what could he possibly have? An overpair, two pairs, a set, straight and of course the flush are the scenarios that run through my head, and I am the favorite in all but one of those.
So I finally make the call, and he showed me Ac3c for the flopped nuts! yikes! Turns out he was acting the whole way, and at this point, only the 7c can help me out and of course I miss wide.
So there goes my $10 LOL, after that I waited for another hour for the game to finish but we didn't have time to play another one.
That was really cruel, but I am hoping to do better next time.
By the way, we might play again on sunday night but I haven't heard from them since, maybe that won't happen, we'll see. But the level of play wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. People are very aggressive even with money at stake and don't see to be limping much; and I have already targeted the preflop crazies.
Ok that's all for now, see you later.
ronee
Let me explain. I didn't pick up cards at all during the first two orbits and kept folding hands.
Finally, I get a decent hand, 8c9c and decide to check in the BB with one player limping.
The flop is a beautiful 5c6c2c.
The limper then bets a pot-sized bet, and I raise 1/5 of my stack hoping to take it down right there.
He thinks for a long time, and wonders what I have for about a minute, but he finally reraises me. I agonize but tell him I CAN'T fold this hand, it's impossible. At this point, what could he possibly have? An overpair, two pairs, a set, straight and of course the flush are the scenarios that run through my head, and I am the favorite in all but one of those.
So I finally make the call, and he showed me Ac3c for the flopped nuts! yikes! Turns out he was acting the whole way, and at this point, only the 7c can help me out and of course I miss wide.
So there goes my $10 LOL, after that I waited for another hour for the game to finish but we didn't have time to play another one.
That was really cruel, but I am hoping to do better next time.
By the way, we might play again on sunday night but I haven't heard from them since, maybe that won't happen, we'll see. But the level of play wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. People are very aggressive even with money at stake and don't see to be limping much; and I have already targeted the preflop crazies.
Ok that's all for now, see you later.
ronee
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
The Number 3
I am downloading Windows XP Service Pack 3 at work right now, and I can't wait to get home and try it on, see what kind of speed "improvements" Microsoft has in store for us.
DO NOT MESS UP MY COMPUTER!
Soon will also come out Firefox 3 and I am also excited about this one as maybe millions of people are. Thank god this one doesn't weigh 350megs lol.
Finally, PokerTracker 3 will be out on May 15th after it was pushed back for a couple of weeks.
I am happy this is finally here as I can't wait to try on the new features and sleek look (PT2 just looks god-awful). More importantly, that will encourage me to wipe out my old stats (they aren't so good) and give me a new challenge from now on. Play more hands and have a ROI of at least 30% in tourneys/SNGs is what I will strive for.
The live game is TONIGHT, and it starts at 9pm weeeeee!
I have no clue how this is gonna go but I will go home today, skip the gym and get some sleep to be ready and clear my head. Basketball game went to overtime last night and we won 56-52 so that was good, but I am tired and my legs are dead.
Among other things, Lakers vs Jazz game 2 is today at 16h30 and I am praying for the Lakers and my man Kobe to go up 2-0 on Utah.
Also, the live game will make me miss Nouvelle Star on TV, but poker comes first, sorry LOL.
Especially since the past performances failed to convince me, I really think the singers did better during the first two weeks of the competition, now they are just bleh.
I might just skip this prime and look up the results online haha.
Wish me luck!
ronee
DO NOT MESS UP MY COMPUTER!
Soon will also come out Firefox 3 and I am also excited about this one as maybe millions of people are. Thank god this one doesn't weigh 350megs lol.
Finally, PokerTracker 3 will be out on May 15th after it was pushed back for a couple of weeks.
I am happy this is finally here as I can't wait to try on the new features and sleek look (PT2 just looks god-awful). More importantly, that will encourage me to wipe out my old stats (they aren't so good) and give me a new challenge from now on. Play more hands and have a ROI of at least 30% in tourneys/SNGs is what I will strive for.
The live game is TONIGHT, and it starts at 9pm weeeeee!
I have no clue how this is gonna go but I will go home today, skip the gym and get some sleep to be ready and clear my head. Basketball game went to overtime last night and we won 56-52 so that was good, but I am tired and my legs are dead.
Among other things, Lakers vs Jazz game 2 is today at 16h30 and I am praying for the Lakers and my man Kobe to go up 2-0 on Utah.
Also, the live game will make me miss Nouvelle Star on TV, but poker comes first, sorry LOL.
Especially since the past performances failed to convince me, I really think the singers did better during the first two weeks of the competition, now they are just bleh.
I might just skip this prime and look up the results online haha.
Wish me luck!
ronee
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
6-tabling
Man I really love multi-tabling, it's fun.
I fired up 6 SNGs last night, a mix of 6-man, 9-man and 18-man and I think it went very well.
Honestly 6-tabling is not hard at all, it only gets a little tricky when I start chatting with people and take screenshots of incredible hands LOL. Hopefully one day, I will have seen so much incredible shit in my lifetime that I won't even bother with screenshots of a one-outer XD.
Also, I don't get shorthanded on all the tables (usually bustout) so orbits are not really short and you have a lot of time to reflect on your decisions. Now on to the bustout hands I can remember:
- I raise 3xBB with QQ and get called by the huge CL. flop is 753 and I bet, he raises me REALLY quick and I had a bad feeling of trips. I shoved and he showed me 75 for top two. Mmmmm I'll raise more preflop next time. But since we were shorthanded I really wanted action, but unfortunately I got more than I wanted.
- Shorstacked on the bubble with another VERY short stack that was surely gonna bust IF I waited a little longer. Unfortunately I pick up AK, and I tell myself that I can't possibly fold this hand. So I shove the CL preflop and he thinks and calls with JT. Too bad, he flops a T and I bust on the bubble. Mistake?
- We reach the money and I just doubled through the leader and we now share the lead. I shove his BB from the SB with AT thinking that he wouldn't risk an elimination given I just won a big showdown with him the hand before....WRONG. He calls with KQ and rivers a K to bust me. That hand really hurt me because I would have had about 13k in chips compared to the remaining 3k and 4k or so.
- The last one I remember was irrelevant. I was short with about 5 remaining and shoved with a club flush draw and miss.
One very funny hand was when I was short at the final table of the 18-man with JsTs.
I limp and get an ace-high flop with two diamonds. The guy checks to me and I was SURE that he didn't have an ace (he'd bet the flop to prevent flushes) so I shove him with the few chips I have left. He thinks and calls to show 5d2d LOL. He misses his flush and I win with JACK HIGH.
Hopefully I didn't get flamed on in the chat room, and I am surprised nobody said anything.
I ended the night with very little profit but at least I got some fun out of it :D
Alright guys, I don't think I'll be able to play tonight, I have this basketball game at 20h15 and I will probably get home at 22h15 or so.
Take care.
ronee
I fired up 6 SNGs last night, a mix of 6-man, 9-man and 18-man and I think it went very well.
Honestly 6-tabling is not hard at all, it only gets a little tricky when I start chatting with people and take screenshots of incredible hands LOL. Hopefully one day, I will have seen so much incredible shit in my lifetime that I won't even bother with screenshots of a one-outer XD.
Also, I don't get shorthanded on all the tables (usually bustout) so orbits are not really short and you have a lot of time to reflect on your decisions. Now on to the bustout hands I can remember:
- I raise 3xBB with QQ and get called by the huge CL. flop is 753 and I bet, he raises me REALLY quick and I had a bad feeling of trips. I shoved and he showed me 75 for top two. Mmmmm I'll raise more preflop next time. But since we were shorthanded I really wanted action, but unfortunately I got more than I wanted.
- Shorstacked on the bubble with another VERY short stack that was surely gonna bust IF I waited a little longer. Unfortunately I pick up AK, and I tell myself that I can't possibly fold this hand. So I shove the CL preflop and he thinks and calls with JT. Too bad, he flops a T and I bust on the bubble. Mistake?
- We reach the money and I just doubled through the leader and we now share the lead. I shove his BB from the SB with AT thinking that he wouldn't risk an elimination given I just won a big showdown with him the hand before....WRONG. He calls with KQ and rivers a K to bust me. That hand really hurt me because I would have had about 13k in chips compared to the remaining 3k and 4k or so.
- The last one I remember was irrelevant. I was short with about 5 remaining and shoved with a club flush draw and miss.
One very funny hand was when I was short at the final table of the 18-man with JsTs.
I limp and get an ace-high flop with two diamonds. The guy checks to me and I was SURE that he didn't have an ace (he'd bet the flop to prevent flushes) so I shove him with the few chips I have left. He thinks and calls to show 5d2d LOL. He misses his flush and I win with JACK HIGH.
Hopefully I didn't get flamed on in the chat room, and I am surprised nobody said anything.
I ended the night with very little profit but at least I got some fun out of it :D
Alright guys, I don't think I'll be able to play tonight, I have this basketball game at 20h15 and I will probably get home at 22h15 or so.
Take care.
ronee
Monday, May 5, 2008
NEVER bluff new players!
Wednesday night is when the game happens. We will have a 6-man game with a $10 buy-in. Hopefully we will be able to play more than 2 games.
Among the players, 2 are fairly new, 2 know how to play, and the last one I am not sure about.
This past week end, we played 4-handed just for fun with the two new players. Out of all the games, I never finished better than 2nd, which I am clearly disappointed with.
One hand came out like this:
3-handed in the SB, I picked up AhQh and raise 3xBB and get called by the button.
Flop commes KTx and I fire a decent continuation bet. He thinks for a while and decides to call. Right there I knew he didn't have any of it. At best he had a weak T.
Turn card is a 7 and I decide to move all-in. He thinks for a long time and calls anyway and show J7o. He beat me with middle pair on the turn.
I can't flame him for his preflop and flop calls obviously. He can do whatever he wants and he won for it.
I asked him, if we were playing for real money, if he would have made that call. He said no.
That's some comfort for wednesday night I guess, but I am still not happy with my play there as I forgot the golden rule of "never bluff a calling station".
And so I have made some guidelines for the game:
- NEVER EVER bluff the 2 new players.
- value-bet the shit out of my mid-pairs and top pairs against them.
- only play premiums.
- remember that 80% of the hands will probably go to a showdown.
- top 3 get at least their money back, with 4th finisher gets 50% of BI back, so I can afford to just wait as the new players will get involved in 60% of the hands.
That's all for now. Suddenly I get the itch to play a $10 6-man SNG on Stars just for practice LOL.
I probably won't have time since I have badminton tonight and a basketball game tomorrow night.
Next update will probably be a recap of the live game.
Wish me luck.
ronee
Among the players, 2 are fairly new, 2 know how to play, and the last one I am not sure about.
This past week end, we played 4-handed just for fun with the two new players. Out of all the games, I never finished better than 2nd, which I am clearly disappointed with.
One hand came out like this:
3-handed in the SB, I picked up AhQh and raise 3xBB and get called by the button.
Flop commes KTx and I fire a decent continuation bet. He thinks for a while and decides to call. Right there I knew he didn't have any of it. At best he had a weak T.
Turn card is a 7 and I decide to move all-in. He thinks for a long time and calls anyway and show J7o. He beat me with middle pair on the turn.
I can't flame him for his preflop and flop calls obviously. He can do whatever he wants and he won for it.
I asked him, if we were playing for real money, if he would have made that call. He said no.
That's some comfort for wednesday night I guess, but I am still not happy with my play there as I forgot the golden rule of "never bluff a calling station".
And so I have made some guidelines for the game:
- NEVER EVER bluff the 2 new players.
- value-bet the shit out of my mid-pairs and top pairs against them.
- only play premiums.
- remember that 80% of the hands will probably go to a showdown.
- top 3 get at least their money back, with 4th finisher gets 50% of BI back, so I can afford to just wait as the new players will get involved in 60% of the hands.
That's all for now. Suddenly I get the itch to play a $10 6-man SNG on Stars just for practice LOL.
I probably won't have time since I have badminton tonight and a basketball game tomorrow night.
Next update will probably be a recap of the live game.
Wish me luck.
ronee
Friday, May 2, 2008
Bored at work, some poker thoughts
Wow today is a slow day at work.
Yesterday was a holiday, so lots of people took Friday off to enjoy a long week end.
I will most likely do that myself next week (as next thursday is also a holiday, as well as the monday after) so I can have a 5 day week end, ship it!!!
Regarding poker, I haven't played at all lately. Mainly because I am very tired at night and I find it hard to do the 9pm-12pm poker thing now. Waking up at 6h30 isn't funny.
Also, it's a lot easier to just load up Counter-Strike and play for 10 minutes and quit than grind SNGs for a couple of hours.
I am excited about the coming week though because I might have a live poker game lined up. I am not sure who is going attend exactly, but I am told most of them just started playing, so it should be fun. By the way, that will force me to put some hands in online, most likely sunday, since I can't play any other day because of my girlfriend staying over during week ends.
In general, I don't like to play against new players, just because they tend to splash around not knowing what they are doing. That shouldn't really bother me because players should be able to play however they want right? If that player somehow wins than he did right, right? Well yes, but they also tend to suckout more than the norm LOL. Just joking. The game plan should be as usual...just wait form some hands and pounce on them while they are holding middle pair, that should work. If not, I will post my bad beats on here.
Regarding the (huge) announcement that the WSOP ME final table will be postponed to November, I will just say that I am shocked.
Not that this is a half-bad idea, but I am just surprised that Harrah's would make such a drastic change to the most important poker event in the entire world. Of course that won't sway away entrants, we should again top the 6,000 mark but they had to know that this move was gonna create a storm of controversy. Just check out the P5 and 2+2 forums and you will see.
Obviously they are thinking about money here, so that viewers will tune up on ESPN 11 hours after the final table is over to watch the broadcast on TV.
But the negatives might very well outweigh the positives in here. The worse case scenario is that one of the players won't be able to make it to the final table (shit happens in 4 freaking months) and then what? He will be blinded out for the whole world to see? What if he happens to be the chip leader who also has 50% of the chips in play? Good luck to Harrah's.
By the way, I pity the ESPN employees (hello Norman Chad) that will have to work around the clock to deliver the edited version in record time.
Oh yeah, downloading Lost at work right now and I can't wait to watch it when I get home.
Ronee
Yesterday was a holiday, so lots of people took Friday off to enjoy a long week end.
I will most likely do that myself next week (as next thursday is also a holiday, as well as the monday after) so I can have a 5 day week end, ship it!!!
Regarding poker, I haven't played at all lately. Mainly because I am very tired at night and I find it hard to do the 9pm-12pm poker thing now. Waking up at 6h30 isn't funny.
Also, it's a lot easier to just load up Counter-Strike and play for 10 minutes and quit than grind SNGs for a couple of hours.
I am excited about the coming week though because I might have a live poker game lined up. I am not sure who is going attend exactly, but I am told most of them just started playing, so it should be fun. By the way, that will force me to put some hands in online, most likely sunday, since I can't play any other day because of my girlfriend staying over during week ends.
In general, I don't like to play against new players, just because they tend to splash around not knowing what they are doing. That shouldn't really bother me because players should be able to play however they want right? If that player somehow wins than he did right, right? Well yes, but they also tend to suckout more than the norm LOL. Just joking. The game plan should be as usual...just wait form some hands and pounce on them while they are holding middle pair, that should work. If not, I will post my bad beats on here.
Regarding the (huge) announcement that the WSOP ME final table will be postponed to November, I will just say that I am shocked.
Not that this is a half-bad idea, but I am just surprised that Harrah's would make such a drastic change to the most important poker event in the entire world. Of course that won't sway away entrants, we should again top the 6,000 mark but they had to know that this move was gonna create a storm of controversy. Just check out the P5 and 2+2 forums and you will see.
Obviously they are thinking about money here, so that viewers will tune up on ESPN 11 hours after the final table is over to watch the broadcast on TV.
But the negatives might very well outweigh the positives in here. The worse case scenario is that one of the players won't be able to make it to the final table (shit happens in 4 freaking months) and then what? He will be blinded out for the whole world to see? What if he happens to be the chip leader who also has 50% of the chips in play? Good luck to Harrah's.
By the way, I pity the ESPN employees (hello Norman Chad) that will have to work around the clock to deliver the edited version in record time.
Oh yeah, downloading Lost at work right now and I can't wait to watch it when I get home.
Ronee
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