Writing it in dollars makes it seem higher these days... But I have lost $300 since my maximum winnings of $2070 that I reached on November 8th. This is, simply put, horrible. What has happened to my ability to play poker? I just do not understand what is happening here. I won €120 at a Celeb tournament and now all this money is basically gone. At Pacific, I went down from $270 or something to now $9. I would not have believed such a thing to be possible if I had not painfully experienced it myself.
I guess it is good in a way that I cashed out some of my winnings, it is forcing me to play at a lower level now. But man, this hurts. I cannot believe I am back down to playing $5 SNGs and desperately hoping to finish in the money, where two months ago I was playing two $20 SNGs in parallel and thinking nothing of it. I even made $100 on one night doing that. Those were the days...
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
My first royal flush
Today I made my first royal flush. What is embarrassing about this is that I didn't realize it until a full hour later... I thought I had "only" made a straight flush. Can't believe I didn't notice it :-)
2 players
Converted at weaktight.com
Stacks:
Pre-flop: ($150, 2 players) Hero is BB
BTN calls $50, Hero checks
Flop:
($200, 2 players)
Hero checks, BTN checks
Turn:
($200, 2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $100, Hero calls $100
River:
($400, 2 players)
Hero checks, BTN checks
Final Pot: $400
Hero shows:
Hero wins $400 ( won +$200 )
BTN lost -$200.00
Later I played a large tournament (260 players) and went out in 33rd place (top 30 got paid) when my AK UTG ran into JJ SB. Nothing you can do about that. Well, I suppose that I did not HAVE to push. My M was still 9.5 for the moment, but as I said I was UTG and the blinds would increase in one minute, making my M a bit less than 7 after the blinds pass me. Still it smarts, I had been playing pretty well I think, even though I perhaps went a little bit overboard with AK early on. Judge for yourselves...
Hand 1: AJo, limp-check-fold flop.
Changed tables after 2nd hand!
SB T9, limp. Middle pair. All check. Bet 60 on turn into pot 100. Two callers, no third heart on river. Bet 80, both fold. 1360, avg. 1263. 245/260 left.
JTo BB, complete moron minraises, only I call. FLop middle pair, bet out on turn and river. He calls of course and loses of course. 1510, avg. 1392.
KTo in hijack, speculative limp. SB raises big, I fold.
QQ, call 3BB raise. THREE more callers. A on flop, I fold.
Next hand AK! Raise to 120. EP. Two callers. Four. Miss flop. Bet 300 = half pot. Two callers, but both are shortstacked. All-in on low turn. The moron calls, has nothing. 2665, yeah!! avg. 1616.
Opp who folded on turn later claimed to have had QQ. Interesting.
Change table. Fold 82 BB to minraise. Call A2 as SB, miss flop, fold.
I just realized that I made a royal flush in an earlier tournament tonight. I thought it was "just" a straight flush...
44 as BB, fold to 450 all-in. Don't want to play 50% hands now. Still avg+300 (2445).
22 UTG, limp. Low flop. SB bets out, I fold. Again 22 on very next hand!! Early raise to 300, have to fold again. 2195 now, avg=2437. Blinds 50/100. 125 left, top 30 gets paid.
QKo in MP. Fold when guy to my right raises to 400. All fold. Was this too tight? Not according to Harrington!
Will need about 9000 in chips to make it into the money. Fold 93 as BB to early raise.
Fold T5 suited as SB. Would have made bottom pair tens. 113 left after the break, avg = 2761, my stack 2020.
Raise to 3BB when I notice that BB is extremely tight (3%!). He folds: 2170 (no SB in this hand). Table is becoming pretty tight.
Blinds 75/150.
QJo in MP, fold after early limp. Miss flop.
Fold 65s UTG, is folded around! Next hand KJo as BB. Cannot resist calling minraise, but have to fold on low flop.
STack 1795 now, M = 8. Next round I need to try a steal, MP now. Right after writing this I get 88! Raise to 600. BB calls, flop T66. I have already decided to push when HE pushes! I call, he has 98s, there were two diamonds on the flop, but no third appears and he also does not make his gutshot. 3665, that's better! Avg = 3428, really needed that...
AGAIN 65s UTG, but fold again. All fold again...
98s as BB, early minraise, I fold.
Blinds 100/200, 83 players left. Almost got to steal as button, but RHS beats me to it. He raises again on the next hand, does not get called.
M = 11, do not need to rush with steals. AQs in MP! Damn, early all-in, do not want 50% hand for most of my stack. He had 33, I Would have made a straight on the river. 74 left, avg = 4216.
A2 as SB... fold to early raise. 3140, M =10.5.
QTo OTB. Steal if I get the chance... No, early minraise. Same player does it again on next hand! This time BB calls and checkraises flop. Minraiser calls... all-in on turn, he has QQ. Too bad for the BB who picked a bad time to bluff. Minraiser does it again on the next hand, but finally folds during that hand.
KK!! RHS raises to 3BB; I push. He has JJ. No miracles: I have 6580. Oooh yeah. He pushes on next hand and it is tempting to call with ATo, but I fold, as do all. He pushes again. Gets called this time--twice! But he beats KK and JJ with his AK after an Ace on the flop.
I have 6580 now. Blinds 150/300, M=14. 65 players left. Avg=4800.
KQo as SB. Limp after 1 limper. FLop KQx, two clubs. I check, opp bets 900, I put him all-in, I have him beaten till two aces appear on turn and river. Now we BOTH have two pair! Grrr....
Try a steal on the next hand, but BB pushes. Stack 5530 now, M=12. Still doing fine really. Avg=5288.
Really annoyed about that shared pot though.
Have to take it easy for a while now and calm down. 54 left. Should make the money...
QQ as BB. Here we go. This time I have to call the push. But not after one calls it before me... DAMN, I would have won, he had only 88!!
Damn damn damn... What an idiot.
Now *I* get 88 as SB, very funny. Fold after limp and minraise. Flop 733, just lovely. Well, minraise might have had a higher pair, he pushes on the flop.
STILL 54 players left, this is not going anywhere!
Need to stay calm... My M is still 11, OK the blinds are going up, M=8 now. Still quite OK... Stack 5080, avg=5777.
Fold A6s in EP, all fold. No SB in this hand.
Not getting stats from PO now, annoying.
I really am quite excited. Now 67s UTG, fold again. Gutshot.
98o as BB. Fold on gutshot flop, make gutshot but also board becomes 4-flush, would have lost!
M=7.5 now. Need to start pushing I guess. Still 48 players left, a long way still to go.
Good that there is a break in 5 minutes, can calm down a bit hopefully...
Push Q3o in hijack. All fold. Minraise QTo in next hand. All fold! This is much better, stack 5680 now, M=9.5.
Fortunately there are four tight players to my immediate left.
Blast, KQs, RHS pushes! I fold. Shorty calls. Pusher had A6, I would have won. Oh well.
At least RHS is gone now, he was annoying.
BREAK
42 left, avg=7428.
My M will be 7.5 after the break.
AJo as BB in first hand.
Ooooooooooooh yeah!
One opponent limps, flop Jxx, I check, he pushes, I call, he has A9. A on river is funny.
Stack 8770 now!! Try a steal as SB with J9 (minraise) but BB calls and I miss the flop.
STack 8020, M = 10.5. Think about stealing in next hand but RHS (new) pushes!
39 left, getting tight now, top 30 gets paid. 4 tables left. avg = 8000 exactly.
Trying to take it easy, no steal attempt in MP with A5 or K9.
Stacks are all about equal at my table, between 11K and 6K. Gonna be a long match still. Table is VERY tight, all at 17% or less (much less sometimes).
Hopefully I will be able to steal some chips.
99 as BB, interesting. Call a 3BB raise. Check-fold A-high flop and K turn. 6270 now...
37 left, avg 8432.
Q8 OTB. Early raise, fold.
J8s in next hand. Push. All fold, phew. 7020, M=9.5 again. Fold Q8o in MP, button pushes AQ and is called by AJ! 34 players left now... 33... AVG = 9454.
Push AK UTG. SB has JJ, that's it. Out in 33rd position....
2 players
Converted at weaktight.com
Stacks:
| BTN | ($1870.00) | ||
| Hero | ($2130.00) |
Pre-flop: ($150, 2 players) Hero is BB
BTN calls $50, Hero checks
Flop:
($200, 2 players)Hero checks, BTN checks
Turn:
($200, 2 players)Hero checks, BTN bets $100, Hero calls $100
River:
($400, 2 players)Hero checks, BTN checks
Final Pot: $400
Hero shows:
Hero wins $400 ( won +$200 )
BTN lost -$200.00
Later I played a large tournament (260 players) and went out in 33rd place (top 30 got paid) when my AK UTG ran into JJ SB. Nothing you can do about that. Well, I suppose that I did not HAVE to push. My M was still 9.5 for the moment, but as I said I was UTG and the blinds would increase in one minute, making my M a bit less than 7 after the blinds pass me. Still it smarts, I had been playing pretty well I think, even though I perhaps went a little bit overboard with AK early on. Judge for yourselves...
Hand 1: AJo, limp-check-fold flop.
Changed tables after 2nd hand!
SB T9, limp. Middle pair. All check. Bet 60 on turn into pot 100. Two callers, no third heart on river. Bet 80, both fold. 1360, avg. 1263. 245/260 left.
JTo BB, complete moron minraises, only I call. FLop middle pair, bet out on turn and river. He calls of course and loses of course. 1510, avg. 1392.
KTo in hijack, speculative limp. SB raises big, I fold.
QQ, call 3BB raise. THREE more callers. A on flop, I fold.
Next hand AK! Raise to 120. EP. Two callers. Four. Miss flop. Bet 300 = half pot. Two callers, but both are shortstacked. All-in on low turn. The moron calls, has nothing. 2665, yeah!! avg. 1616.
Opp who folded on turn later claimed to have had QQ. Interesting.
Change table. Fold 82 BB to minraise. Call A2 as SB, miss flop, fold.
I just realized that I made a royal flush in an earlier tournament tonight. I thought it was "just" a straight flush...
44 as BB, fold to 450 all-in. Don't want to play 50% hands now. Still avg+300 (2445).
22 UTG, limp. Low flop. SB bets out, I fold. Again 22 on very next hand!! Early raise to 300, have to fold again. 2195 now, avg=2437. Blinds 50/100. 125 left, top 30 gets paid.
QKo in MP. Fold when guy to my right raises to 400. All fold. Was this too tight? Not according to Harrington!
Will need about 9000 in chips to make it into the money. Fold 93 as BB to early raise.
Fold T5 suited as SB. Would have made bottom pair tens. 113 left after the break, avg = 2761, my stack 2020.
Raise to 3BB when I notice that BB is extremely tight (3%!). He folds: 2170 (no SB in this hand). Table is becoming pretty tight.
Blinds 75/150.
QJo in MP, fold after early limp. Miss flop.
Fold 65s UTG, is folded around! Next hand KJo as BB. Cannot resist calling minraise, but have to fold on low flop.
STack 1795 now, M = 8. Next round I need to try a steal, MP now. Right after writing this I get 88! Raise to 600. BB calls, flop T66. I have already decided to push when HE pushes! I call, he has 98s, there were two diamonds on the flop, but no third appears and he also does not make his gutshot. 3665, that's better! Avg = 3428, really needed that...
AGAIN 65s UTG, but fold again. All fold again...
98s as BB, early minraise, I fold.
Blinds 100/200, 83 players left. Almost got to steal as button, but RHS beats me to it. He raises again on the next hand, does not get called.
M = 11, do not need to rush with steals. AQs in MP! Damn, early all-in, do not want 50% hand for most of my stack. He had 33, I Would have made a straight on the river. 74 left, avg = 4216.
A2 as SB... fold to early raise. 3140, M =10.5.
QTo OTB. Steal if I get the chance... No, early minraise. Same player does it again on next hand! This time BB calls and checkraises flop. Minraiser calls... all-in on turn, he has QQ. Too bad for the BB who picked a bad time to bluff. Minraiser does it again on the next hand, but finally folds during that hand.
KK!! RHS raises to 3BB; I push. He has JJ. No miracles: I have 6580. Oooh yeah. He pushes on next hand and it is tempting to call with ATo, but I fold, as do all. He pushes again. Gets called this time--twice! But he beats KK and JJ with his AK after an Ace on the flop.
I have 6580 now. Blinds 150/300, M=14. 65 players left. Avg=4800.
KQo as SB. Limp after 1 limper. FLop KQx, two clubs. I check, opp bets 900, I put him all-in, I have him beaten till two aces appear on turn and river. Now we BOTH have two pair! Grrr....
Try a steal on the next hand, but BB pushes. Stack 5530 now, M=12. Still doing fine really. Avg=5288.
Really annoyed about that shared pot though.
Have to take it easy for a while now and calm down. 54 left. Should make the money...
QQ as BB. Here we go. This time I have to call the push. But not after one calls it before me... DAMN, I would have won, he had only 88!!
Damn damn damn... What an idiot.
Now *I* get 88 as SB, very funny. Fold after limp and minraise. Flop 733, just lovely. Well, minraise might have had a higher pair, he pushes on the flop.
STILL 54 players left, this is not going anywhere!
Need to stay calm... My M is still 11, OK the blinds are going up, M=8 now. Still quite OK... Stack 5080, avg=5777.
Fold A6s in EP, all fold. No SB in this hand.
Not getting stats from PO now, annoying.
I really am quite excited. Now 67s UTG, fold again. Gutshot.
98o as BB. Fold on gutshot flop, make gutshot but also board becomes 4-flush, would have lost!
M=7.5 now. Need to start pushing I guess. Still 48 players left, a long way still to go.
Good that there is a break in 5 minutes, can calm down a bit hopefully...
Push Q3o in hijack. All fold. Minraise QTo in next hand. All fold! This is much better, stack 5680 now, M=9.5.
Fortunately there are four tight players to my immediate left.
Blast, KQs, RHS pushes! I fold. Shorty calls. Pusher had A6, I would have won. Oh well.
At least RHS is gone now, he was annoying.
BREAK
42 left, avg=7428.
My M will be 7.5 after the break.
AJo as BB in first hand.
Ooooooooooooh yeah!
One opponent limps, flop Jxx, I check, he pushes, I call, he has A9. A on river is funny.
Stack 8770 now!! Try a steal as SB with J9 (minraise) but BB calls and I miss the flop.
STack 8020, M = 10.5. Think about stealing in next hand but RHS (new) pushes!
39 left, getting tight now, top 30 gets paid. 4 tables left. avg = 8000 exactly.
Trying to take it easy, no steal attempt in MP with A5 or K9.
Stacks are all about equal at my table, between 11K and 6K. Gonna be a long match still. Table is VERY tight, all at 17% or less (much less sometimes).
Hopefully I will be able to steal some chips.
99 as BB, interesting. Call a 3BB raise. Check-fold A-high flop and K turn. 6270 now...
37 left, avg 8432.
Q8 OTB. Early raise, fold.
J8s in next hand. Push. All fold, phew. 7020, M=9.5 again. Fold Q8o in MP, button pushes AQ and is called by AJ! 34 players left now... 33... AVG = 9454.
Push AK UTG. SB has JJ, that's it. Out in 33rd position....
Monday, December 10, 2007
KK
However, I am also not playing as well as I could. At one point in my last attempt at Party, I actually got KK as SB. The blinds were 100/200. There were two limpers and I raised to 600.
Mistake 1: should raise more, you do not want to play a multiway pot but are giving everyone odds to call.
The BB folded but the two limpers called. Flop 964 (or something). The pot was 2000, I bet out 600.
Mistake 2: betting out with a hand that is likely to be far ahead of the other hands.
I knew that I should be checking here, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I was just too scared of check-check-Ace on turn. It is ridiculous really, if anyone was waiting for an Ace they basically had a 3-outer. I just HAD to check here and possibly check the turn as well, and hope that somebody would try to win the pot at some point.
But nooo, I bet and of course everyone folded. What were they going to do? Stupid stupid... I guess I should not be playing poker when I am scared of seeing a turn card, but it is hard not to be scared when your opponents keep hitting their miracle cards.
Mistake 1: should raise more, you do not want to play a multiway pot but are giving everyone odds to call.
The BB folded but the two limpers called. Flop 964 (or something). The pot was 2000, I bet out 600.
Mistake 2: betting out with a hand that is likely to be far ahead of the other hands.
I knew that I should be checking here, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I was just too scared of check-check-Ace on turn. It is ridiculous really, if anyone was waiting for an Ace they basically had a 3-outer. I just HAD to check here and possibly check the turn as well, and hope that somebody would try to win the pot at some point.
But nooo, I bet and of course everyone folded. What were they going to do? Stupid stupid... I guess I should not be playing poker when I am scared of seeing a turn card, but it is hard not to be scared when your opponents keep hitting their miracle cards.
Sunday, December 9, 2007
More complaining about bad beats
First I call a short-stacked all-in with 44. OK, a bit loose, but he had AK and I was doing fine until the river K.
Then I push with two high cards and get called by 44. Of course my opponent immediately flops a 4.
Finally, now extremely shortstacked, I call an all-in of what turns out to be K8 with KQ. The river is an 8.
This is on top of earlier games today, where I flopped a set of sixes. An idiot with a flush draw would not go away and of course made his flush on the river.
Before that I had a game where I raised and then reraised all-in with QQ. My opponents had the powerhouse QJ and JJ. Again I was doing fine until the river J.
How can I be running this badly for so long? I have now lost the entire bonus that Party gave me to come back! Unbelievable. The only good thing that I have to report is that today and yesterday I won four heads up games in a row at Pacific Poker. One of them lasted 105 hands! I guess I will restrict my play to heads up games at Pacific for the moment.
Celeb is still not going well. I am just barely managing to not lose money there on average. It is a good thing that I won €120 in that MTT at the start. Since then, my bankroll has hovered around the same amount the entire time. In fact, I never was more than €5 over the amount that I had immediately after the MTT win. So much for the "easy" heads up games.
Nevertheless, they do seem to be going better at Pacific, though this is of course skewed by this 4-streak. My score there is now 13 to 6, so before yesterday it was only 9 to 6, barely enough to break even given the high rake.
Then I push with two high cards and get called by 44. Of course my opponent immediately flops a 4.
Finally, now extremely shortstacked, I call an all-in of what turns out to be K8 with KQ. The river is an 8.
This is on top of earlier games today, where I flopped a set of sixes. An idiot with a flush draw would not go away and of course made his flush on the river.
Before that I had a game where I raised and then reraised all-in with QQ. My opponents had the powerhouse QJ and JJ. Again I was doing fine until the river J.
How can I be running this badly for so long? I have now lost the entire bonus that Party gave me to come back! Unbelievable. The only good thing that I have to report is that today and yesterday I won four heads up games in a row at Pacific Poker. One of them lasted 105 hands! I guess I will restrict my play to heads up games at Pacific for the moment.
Celeb is still not going well. I am just barely managing to not lose money there on average. It is a good thing that I won €120 in that MTT at the start. Since then, my bankroll has hovered around the same amount the entire time. In fact, I never was more than €5 over the amount that I had immediately after the MTT win. So much for the "easy" heads up games.
Nevertheless, they do seem to be going better at Pacific, though this is of course skewed by this 4-streak. My score there is now 13 to 6, so before yesterday it was only 9 to 6, barely enough to break even given the high rake.
My latest tournament
I made another set of live notes. Here they are. For what it's worth, I think I played well enough...
A7 as SB. Checked the flop Axx against 3 opponents, all check.
Bet 60 on turn x, two callers. River K. Bet 60 again, one caller,
I guess he had Ax with x<7. 1720.
Next round K7 as BB. Bet out on K-high two-suited flop. One opp left by
the river, board had paired by now, I checked to him and he checked
behind. 1965.
45 as SB in following hand. Flop gives me OESD+pair, I bet out. One caller
(same guy who keeps calling), stays with me till river but cannot beat
my pair of fives. 2130.
Limp ATo, flop OESD (QJ8) but opp bets nearly the pot, I fold.
Limp KJo, fold to big raise. 2070. Position 50 out of 147 (193 started),
top 20 gets paid, top 6 are nice prizes. (€50)
KK in EP, raise to 120 = 4BB. Loose opp, same as before, calls. Flop Kxx!
He checks, I check. He bets turn, I reraise, he calls.
Fortunately the board does not give a third diamond. He checks river A,
I bet 120 (small fraction of the pot by now), he calls. 2610, pos. 34/138.
Avg stack is 2113.
Level 3, 25/50. Limp KQo in MP. Miss flop. Short stack shoves, I fold.
Pos. 40/125, players are leaving very fast.
AK UTG, raise to 200. All fold... On the very next hand, everyone goes
wild and three people are all-in by the river. Four clubs on the table,
one guy has A, second K, third Q...
93 as SB, flop 355. I bet out but get a caller. I shut down and the board
pairs by the river, counterfeiting my 3. I fold to his river bet. 2275,
avg stack 2705! Pos. 52 out of 107.
54s, raise to 300, one caller. Two. Flop 935, short stack pushes, I push
over the top and pray. First caller folds, shorty had KT. 3360!
Dubious play I guess, but it worked... Pos 31/97, avg 3k.
(Note that the first caller was likely to have two high cards, and the
shorty -- well, he was short and I did have second pair.)
I flop a straight with a two-suited board and bet half the pot.
Other guy pushes, I obviously call -- he had flopped one better
straight...... Unbelievable. Talk about a setup hand...
A7 as SB. Checked the flop Axx against 3 opponents, all check.
Bet 60 on turn x, two callers. River K. Bet 60 again, one caller,
I guess he had Ax with x<7. 1720.
Next round K7 as BB. Bet out on K-high two-suited flop. One opp left by
the river, board had paired by now, I checked to him and he checked
behind. 1965.
45 as SB in following hand. Flop gives me OESD+pair, I bet out. One caller
(same guy who keeps calling), stays with me till river but cannot beat
my pair of fives. 2130.
Limp ATo, flop OESD (QJ8) but opp bets nearly the pot, I fold.
Limp KJo, fold to big raise. 2070. Position 50 out of 147 (193 started),
top 20 gets paid, top 6 are nice prizes. (€50)
KK in EP, raise to 120 = 4BB. Loose opp, same as before, calls. Flop Kxx!
He checks, I check. He bets turn, I reraise, he calls.
Fortunately the board does not give a third diamond. He checks river A,
I bet 120 (small fraction of the pot by now), he calls. 2610, pos. 34/138.
Avg stack is 2113.
Level 3, 25/50. Limp KQo in MP. Miss flop. Short stack shoves, I fold.
Pos. 40/125, players are leaving very fast.
AK UTG, raise to 200. All fold... On the very next hand, everyone goes
wild and three people are all-in by the river. Four clubs on the table,
one guy has A, second K, third Q...
93 as SB, flop 355. I bet out but get a caller. I shut down and the board
pairs by the river, counterfeiting my 3. I fold to his river bet. 2275,
avg stack 2705! Pos. 52 out of 107.
54s, raise to 300, one caller. Two. Flop 935, short stack pushes, I push
over the top and pray. First caller folds, shorty had KT. 3360!
Dubious play I guess, but it worked... Pos 31/97, avg 3k.
(Note that the first caller was likely to have two high cards, and the
shorty -- well, he was short and I did have second pair.)
I flop a straight with a two-suited board and bet half the pot.
Other guy pushes, I obviously call -- he had flopped one better
straight...... Unbelievable. Talk about a setup hand...
Friday, December 7, 2007
Showdown percentage
I am having an incredibly hard time at Celeb Poker. After many, many heads ups, I am still not making any headway and have in fact lost some money again. The good thing is that I just got a "please come back to us" bonus from Party, $25. It looks like I am not going to clear it in time, but hopefully I can make some money with it.
As of today I am paying special attention to the "showdown%", that is, what percentage of showdowns I won. I remembered that I read on Fuel's blog some time ago that this was a key number and that it should be high (no kidding). And I know that it is a leak in my game that I bet too much on won hands and make people fold, it has been a problem for me for a very long time. Anyway for me it was 57% after playing on Celeb for a couple of weeks. Today I reset the counter and managed to get it up to 65% now.
It is hard to keep checking because you are giving your opponents the possibility of outdrawing you, of course. And on dangerous boards I certainly bet out more. But I am putting an effort into letting my opponents bet for me, only raising (and then only a little bit!) on the river, if I can afford it. Also, if I am not sure I am winning, I just call at the end or even fold.
Heads up games really make it clear how each chip that you lose or that you throw away with a bad call ends up in your opponents' hands. This was always the case of course, but if there are just two of you, this really jumps out at you. So as Fuel said: fold losers, show down winners.
Another thing that I wanted to mention is: how did I ever manage to not cash in a Party SNG :-) OK, I just played one tonight, but it was SO easy. Of course it was nice to get AA twice early on, but I did not make that much money off of those cards. I made a lot more when I flopped two pair with 54s :-) and my opponent could not fold top pair medium kicker: he actually went all-in on it when I wouldn't go away.
I didn't manage to win the game though, in the heads up phase at the end (which should be my strength now perhaps!) I ran QJ into KK. What can you do.
My bankroll at Party is now $30, meaning that I have "freed" $5. My goal is to at least double my bankroll in the next two weeks, before the bonus runs out and I most likely have to return the $25.
Good luck at the tables
As of today I am paying special attention to the "showdown%", that is, what percentage of showdowns I won. I remembered that I read on Fuel's blog some time ago that this was a key number and that it should be high (no kidding). And I know that it is a leak in my game that I bet too much on won hands and make people fold, it has been a problem for me for a very long time. Anyway for me it was 57% after playing on Celeb for a couple of weeks. Today I reset the counter and managed to get it up to 65% now.
It is hard to keep checking because you are giving your opponents the possibility of outdrawing you, of course. And on dangerous boards I certainly bet out more. But I am putting an effort into letting my opponents bet for me, only raising (and then only a little bit!) on the river, if I can afford it. Also, if I am not sure I am winning, I just call at the end or even fold.
Heads up games really make it clear how each chip that you lose or that you throw away with a bad call ends up in your opponents' hands. This was always the case of course, but if there are just two of you, this really jumps out at you. So as Fuel said: fold losers, show down winners.
Another thing that I wanted to mention is: how did I ever manage to not cash in a Party SNG :-) OK, I just played one tonight, but it was SO easy. Of course it was nice to get AA twice early on, but I did not make that much money off of those cards. I made a lot more when I flopped two pair with 54s :-) and my opponent could not fold top pair medium kicker: he actually went all-in on it when I wouldn't go away.
I didn't manage to win the game though, in the heads up phase at the end (which should be my strength now perhaps!) I ran QJ into KK. What can you do.
My bankroll at Party is now $30, meaning that I have "freed" $5. My goal is to at least double my bankroll in the next two weeks, before the bonus runs out and I most likely have to return the $25.
Good luck at the tables
Saturday, December 1, 2007
A losing month
I lost $99.73 playing poker last month. I had not had a losing month since I bought the Harrington books! Fortunately I had made $450 in October, but still, this is not good.
On the plus side, I have already made a profit of no less than $5.77 this month (i.e. today)! ($40 now - that's better.... won a couple of heads-ups in a row) The heads-ups are not as easy as I first thought. You really need to remain focused, and luck still plays a factor. Just now I had AK all-in preflop against AQ. He made a straight. Fortunately I had been ahead, so I had some chips left. A few hands later I had TT and he called me with A-something. I was out until the river T! Eventually I did win that game.
At Pacific I played in a heads-up tournament. Things went quite well until some idiot could not part with his A3, I had KK, only to be rewarded by an Ace on the river. I could have folded to his river bet and stayed alive, but I couldn't bring myself to do this. It is really hard to fold a hand that had been ahead the whole time. I even played it pretty well, using a strong checkraise on the turn, but he was not impressed :-( However, I did make it into the money!
On the plus side, I have already made a profit of no less than $5.77 this month (i.e. today)! ($40 now - that's better.... won a couple of heads-ups in a row) The heads-ups are not as easy as I first thought. You really need to remain focused, and luck still plays a factor. Just now I had AK all-in preflop against AQ. He made a straight. Fortunately I had been ahead, so I had some chips left. A few hands later I had TT and he called me with A-something. I was out until the river T! Eventually I did win that game.
At Pacific I played in a heads-up tournament. Things went quite well until some idiot could not part with his A3, I had KK, only to be rewarded by an Ace on the river. I could have folded to his river bet and stayed alive, but I couldn't bring myself to do this. It is really hard to fold a hand that had been ahead the whole time. I even played it pretty well, using a strong checkraise on the turn, but he was not impressed :-( However, I did make it into the money!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)