I held the first Heat of the "Annual Satellite Invitation Cup" yesterday evening.
Martin turned up with his friend Dave instead of Sally, but they bought beer with them so was no problem :-)
My game plan was to play extra tight in the first hour, try to keep the pots small and see how things progressed. On the first hand I got dealt poker Q's and Darren acting ahead of me raised a small amount. Following my strategy I didn't re-raise and one other called (Lynn I think). The flop came K-x-x and Darren led out with a small bet. Not liking the King I decided to fold, and Darren took the pot uncontested, showing A-J. I was a little shocked Darren led out with a bet with nothing, but maybe that was the shape of things to come.
As it turned out the whole game was very tight and conservative, with little in the way of raising and mainly small raises. The early chips went to the two girls, both picking up some good pots. I gained a few chips here and there, bobbling along just above starting chips levels.
By the first break, Dave and Martin were the lower stacks, but still about half starting levels... Darren was the chip lead, with Viki and myself around starting chip levels
In the next session I found myself with KQ suited and up against Darren who had called my pre-flop raise. I missed the flop but it was high, giving me draws. Darren checked and I bet the pot. After thinking for a while he noted he thought he was ahead but folded, showing pocket 4's (he was right :-) ) A little later, I had pocket 8's and raised preflop and only Darren called. The flop was all lower than 8's so was happy enough to put in a reasonable bet, but Darren called. The turn came J and Darren went all-in. I had about 2200 chips left and it was 2000 to call. After thinking for a while decided I was probably ahead but not certain enough to call so folded and showed my hand..... I think he got me back for earlier as he just smiled... :-)
Incredibly it took until round 7 to lose a player. Martin went all in with a flop of A-Q-x with 6-5 suited. Lynn showed A-T which easily held up to take out Martin. At this stage, Lynn and Darren both had over 6000 chips, Viki was probably around 5000, I had around 2000 and Dave around 1000
Luckily for me the game was still playing tight, as I was on big blind with QT and saw a cheap flop. Wasn't happy to see A-T-x but everyone checked, and was more than happy to see a K fall to give me the nut straight (no flush) Unfortunately everyone checked again so had to bet the river, putting in a pot sized bet (1000) Lynn called me but my straight was good enough. This gave me some breathing space but still had to get more chips. Lynn and I were soon at it again, this time both showing A-T and split the pot (winning half the blinds each)
I then got into a pot with Viki and Dave when I was holding QQ. I was Big Blind again, Viki called, Dave went all-in (for not much more) and I went all-in. Viki decided to call and showed A-? Dave had 99. Luckily no A or 9 came and I took two out at once and got myself a good pile of chips.
Soon after, I was holding 5-3 and hit another straight on the river (after checking all the way down) and again Lynn paid me off when I bet.... so this put me well in contention with Darren, but then Darren took out Lynn leaving us heads up.
Darren had around 16000 to my 8000 and the blinds were just up to 2000/1000 so knew I had to be selective but aggresive to take the win.
The first couple of hands were a bit cagey, Darren folded without completing the small blind, I folded to a raise, Darren folded to a raise.... then Darren called my pre-flop raise and came out betting, so I folded.... then I got dealt 6-2 on the button and decided to take the blind... unfortunately Darren called and the flop came J-8-8. Darren bet 2000 so I looked at my hand as if I needed to make a decision before folding and lucky I did, because I actually had 8-2 !! (had misread my hand before) I did debate for a few minutes as I had 3500 chips left so folding was a possibility if I decided that Darren had an 8 as well (he would have a better kicker) the only other hand holding I was thinking about was A-J I decided to go all-in (which was always going to happen really...) and Darren called. Luckily he had A-J and another 8 came on the turn leaving me firm favorite to take the win. Darren's last 2200 chips went in the next hand which I called with QJ suited against A-5. The Q on the flop was enough and I took the victory
It was a great game and really enjoyed it (winning probably helped enhance my experiance) Everyone had played well and all seemed to enjoy also. I can now look forward to the final table in May and enjoy watching (or hearing about) the remaining heats..... I really feel confident it is my year this year (don't I say that every year) :-)
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Friday, February 16, 2007
Poker: Reading Casino "Beginners night"
Myself, Jon, Andy, Bill and Sean all went to the "beginner's night" at Reading Casino last night. Got there 7:30pm just in time for registration. The game was £10 rebuy No Limit Holdem.... the fact you only had to pay £10 a go makes it suitable for beginners apparently :-)
We then hit the tables (well, me and Bill did anyway) My £20 investment in the "drizzle money away" machine that is Roulette was actually very good to me, so managed to walk away with £120 paying for my evening out already !
It was soon time to get down to the serious business of playing in the poker tournament. We started at 8:40pm with the maximum capacity 80 players, so might be a late night !!
My table was fairly tight, but with couple of the guys not afraid to make stabs at the pot. I played 1 or 2 hands in the first 20 as I had absolute rubbish. Eventually I had 9-8 os on BB and saw 8,T,J flop. Decided to bet out and as it was the first time I showed any strength, only 1 player stayed with me, who had A-K. My straight never came, but the 8s were enough to take a pot !
After that I won a couple of pots, then found myself with about 3000 chips and A-8 suited. Four players saw the flop which was A-K-7 I called the minimum bet and 3 players saw the turn which was a 2. Called another minimum bet and was heads up with another 2 falling on the river. The guy bet half the pot, which happened to be all my chips and I was hoping he had A-Q or similar so would be a split pot...... so called..... unfortunately the 2 on the river, which persuaded me to call, gave his pocket 7s a full house so had to buy more chips !
Little later in the game I had Q-9 and flopped top pair. Called a bet and the turn was another Q. I was a little concerned about being out kickered, but called the all-in bet anyway as it left me with chips over, but the other guy had J-9 and had flopped a straight.... only the J on the river would help me and sure enough the poker gods teased my opponents good luck by giving me a J on the river and a split pot.... phew !
By the break and end of rebuys, I was on 3000 chips, compared to the average of around 3500 so not too bad. Jon, Andy and Bill were all around the same Sean just said he had lost count of his rebuys...
After the restart the blinds were now 200-100 so was starting to feel under pressure. Played steadily but wasn't really getting any hands. Limped in couple of times but completely missed flop each time. Blinds were either rubbish hands which missed, or got raised but never really felt like I had a good hand.
I had drizzled my chips away to around 1600 and the blinds were up to 400-200 now. Luckily I was on the button so could relax for a few hands... but no... the management decided to break up out table and I got moved straight into a BB - my luck was definitely not in, especially as my crap hand got raised to put me all-in pre-flop so didn't even get a flop for my money. Similar story on the SB, so sat there fiddling with my single 1000 chip waiting for a hand. Went all-in under the gun, and everyone folded so had the blinds at least..... then went all in a couple of hands later and got called by the lowest chip stack. Although I won the hand, felt a bit cheated that my decent cards didn't even double me up ! Got involved in another hand but had to back out, which put me back down to dangerously low level again.... then to add insult to injury the table got broken up again !
With my chip stack 2 x BB and on a table of 9 players again, I decided to not bother looking at my cards and stick in my chips when I was UTG again. Just got called by the button and the blinds both folded My Q-9 was up against AA ! My luck came back to me as 9 came on the flop to give me some hope, but had to wait for the river to see a Q and a double up.... if I had looked at my cards I may have felt a little embarrassed (perhaps :-) )
In the end, I got no good enough hands to push, so ended up slipping back to all-in blind. This time, although my A5 looked good, my opponents AT hit his T and took my chips, putting me out in 31st place
Only Jon was left playing, so went and played my new friend Roulette again. Managed to build up another £100 profit before blowing it on couple of big 44% chance bets neither of which came in for me.... but still managed to leave (2:30am!!) with a smile and my gambling fund increased
The £200 freezeout tournament looks very tempting now
Finishing positions
Sean : Out first
Bill : Next out
Andy : around about 35th
Mike : 31st
Jon : 12th
(Top 9 positions payed out.... £980 for 1st, £500 2nd, £300 3rd, down to £50 9th)
We then hit the tables (well, me and Bill did anyway) My £20 investment in the "drizzle money away" machine that is Roulette was actually very good to me, so managed to walk away with £120 paying for my evening out already !
It was soon time to get down to the serious business of playing in the poker tournament. We started at 8:40pm with the maximum capacity 80 players, so might be a late night !!
My table was fairly tight, but with couple of the guys not afraid to make stabs at the pot. I played 1 or 2 hands in the first 20 as I had absolute rubbish. Eventually I had 9-8 os on BB and saw 8,T,J flop. Decided to bet out and as it was the first time I showed any strength, only 1 player stayed with me, who had A-K. My straight never came, but the 8s were enough to take a pot !
After that I won a couple of pots, then found myself with about 3000 chips and A-8 suited. Four players saw the flop which was A-K-7 I called the minimum bet and 3 players saw the turn which was a 2. Called another minimum bet and was heads up with another 2 falling on the river. The guy bet half the pot, which happened to be all my chips and I was hoping he had A-Q or similar so would be a split pot...... so called..... unfortunately the 2 on the river, which persuaded me to call, gave his pocket 7s a full house so had to buy more chips !
Little later in the game I had Q-9 and flopped top pair. Called a bet and the turn was another Q. I was a little concerned about being out kickered, but called the all-in bet anyway as it left me with chips over, but the other guy had J-9 and had flopped a straight.... only the J on the river would help me and sure enough the poker gods teased my opponents good luck by giving me a J on the river and a split pot.... phew !
By the break and end of rebuys, I was on 3000 chips, compared to the average of around 3500 so not too bad. Jon, Andy and Bill were all around the same Sean just said he had lost count of his rebuys...
After the restart the blinds were now 200-100 so was starting to feel under pressure. Played steadily but wasn't really getting any hands. Limped in couple of times but completely missed flop each time. Blinds were either rubbish hands which missed, or got raised but never really felt like I had a good hand.
I had drizzled my chips away to around 1600 and the blinds were up to 400-200 now. Luckily I was on the button so could relax for a few hands... but no... the management decided to break up out table and I got moved straight into a BB - my luck was definitely not in, especially as my crap hand got raised to put me all-in pre-flop so didn't even get a flop for my money. Similar story on the SB, so sat there fiddling with my single 1000 chip waiting for a hand. Went all-in under the gun, and everyone folded so had the blinds at least..... then went all in a couple of hands later and got called by the lowest chip stack. Although I won the hand, felt a bit cheated that my decent cards didn't even double me up ! Got involved in another hand but had to back out, which put me back down to dangerously low level again.... then to add insult to injury the table got broken up again !
With my chip stack 2 x BB and on a table of 9 players again, I decided to not bother looking at my cards and stick in my chips when I was UTG again. Just got called by the button and the blinds both folded My Q-9 was up against AA ! My luck came back to me as 9 came on the flop to give me some hope, but had to wait for the river to see a Q and a double up.... if I had looked at my cards I may have felt a little embarrassed (perhaps :-) )
In the end, I got no good enough hands to push, so ended up slipping back to all-in blind. This time, although my A5 looked good, my opponents AT hit his T and took my chips, putting me out in 31st place
Only Jon was left playing, so went and played my new friend Roulette again. Managed to build up another £100 profit before blowing it on couple of big 44% chance bets neither of which came in for me.... but still managed to leave (2:30am!!) with a smile and my gambling fund increased
The £200 freezeout tournament looks very tempting now
Finishing positions
Sean : Out first
Bill : Next out
Andy : around about 35th
Mike : 31st
Jon : 12th
(Top 9 positions payed out.... £980 for 1st, £500 2nd, £300 3rd, down to £50 9th)
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Poker: Online Poker Sites rating : Ladbrokes
Decided to rate the different Poker Sites I play on, as I often see questions on various forums about what are the best sites to play. I find different sites have different strengths and weaknesses, so will try to summarise my own views in this blog (over time)
Here is the first attempt
Ladbrokes
Good range of games and generally lot of players, so don't have to wait very long for STT or cash game of your choice. Nice range of tournaments including the Poker Million and Cruise !
Interface is OK, but I find it sometimes difficult to see the chip stack numbers and the amount of the bets, as the font is small and shows as white on green background. This is also the only software where I have intermittent but regular horrendous performance problems. Often during MTT but can happen anytime. Only recourse is to reboot PC which is not conducive to relaxed and focused play ! Also difficult to get hand history during the game.
Getting money in and out has good choice of methods and is fairly easy, so no problems there.
Overall rating : fair
Here is the first attempt
Ladbrokes
Good range of games and generally lot of players, so don't have to wait very long for STT or cash game of your choice. Nice range of tournaments including the Poker Million and Cruise !
Interface is OK, but I find it sometimes difficult to see the chip stack numbers and the amount of the bets, as the font is small and shows as white on green background. This is also the only software where I have intermittent but regular horrendous performance problems. Often during MTT but can happen anytime. Only recourse is to reboot PC which is not conducive to relaxed and focused play ! Also difficult to get hand history during the game.
Getting money in and out has good choice of methods and is fairly easy, so no problems there.
Overall rating : fair
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Gambling : Betfair "free" bet finally pays off !
Despite my previous losses in Betfair with "free" bets, I decided to take up their kind offer of a free £5 bet, so duly deposit the minimum £10 !
I decide to bet on something looking like a cert, so Chelsea to beat Nott Forest in the FA cup is my choice and makes me 1.43 profit straight away - what a result :-)
Over the next couple of days, start doing my normal mistake of trying to create a book on horse races (funds are too limited to do this) but manage to get some winners and get odds swinging in my favour so build up my funds to around £20 an feeling quite pleased with myself for not crashing out as normal.
The 6 nations gives me a chance to bet on something I know nothing about (as usual!) and decide thast Scotland may beat a weakened England side, and bet accordingly. Fortunatley a chat with Simon (who actually knows a bot about Rugby) makes me change my mind so look at bailing out of my position. As luck would have it, the odds have swung against England so can lay off my bets and will win £1 if england win and 0.40 if Scotland win (just the draw messes my bankroll up) The English victory suits me but shows you should only bet of stuff you know about (didn't I realise this before :-) )
Switched to Greyhounds on the basis there is a 1 in 6 chance of winning, and again because of good odds swings in my favour and a bit of luck picking an outsider to win allowed me to build up my bankroll to around £65 .... not bad for a £10 investment. As I wanted to have another go at the Ladbrokes Cruise, decided to withdrawn my original £10 plus the £40 for the Ladbrokes Cruise... so my luck on Betfair has paid for my Poker bankroll, definately worthwhile :-)
For the remaining monies in my account, I have come up with a system for the Greyhounds which I am trying out at the moment.... so far it has taken me to £27 so seems to be working at the moment.... hopefully will be able to fund some more poker before too long......
Long live Betfair... it is the best thing since sliced bread :-)
I decide to bet on something looking like a cert, so Chelsea to beat Nott Forest in the FA cup is my choice and makes me 1.43 profit straight away - what a result :-)
Over the next couple of days, start doing my normal mistake of trying to create a book on horse races (funds are too limited to do this) but manage to get some winners and get odds swinging in my favour so build up my funds to around £20 an feeling quite pleased with myself for not crashing out as normal.
The 6 nations gives me a chance to bet on something I know nothing about (as usual!) and decide thast Scotland may beat a weakened England side, and bet accordingly. Fortunatley a chat with Simon (who actually knows a bot about Rugby) makes me change my mind so look at bailing out of my position. As luck would have it, the odds have swung against England so can lay off my bets and will win £1 if england win and 0.40 if Scotland win (just the draw messes my bankroll up) The English victory suits me but shows you should only bet of stuff you know about (didn't I realise this before :-) )
Switched to Greyhounds on the basis there is a 1 in 6 chance of winning, and again because of good odds swings in my favour and a bit of luck picking an outsider to win allowed me to build up my bankroll to around £65 .... not bad for a £10 investment. As I wanted to have another go at the Ladbrokes Cruise, decided to withdrawn my original £10 plus the £40 for the Ladbrokes Cruise... so my luck on Betfair has paid for my Poker bankroll, definately worthwhile :-)
For the remaining monies in my account, I have come up with a system for the Greyhounds which I am trying out at the moment.... so far it has taken me to £27 so seems to be working at the moment.... hopefully will be able to fund some more poker before too long......
Long live Betfair... it is the best thing since sliced bread :-)
Friday, February 02, 2007
Poker: Home Tourney : Feb 07
I was feeling relax and confident this month, right up until the first hand anyway :-)
I was on BB with 9-3o and saw a cheap flop, which brought a 3 but two overcards. Checked but a pot sized bet scared me off and only three players got to the showdown. Sean won with one pair and I was slightly sickened as the river would have won me a huge pot, but thats Poker.... The second hand I had something like T-2o and a pot sized pre-flop raise saw me muck the hand. The flop brought aT but would have looked scarey. Sean and Roger saw the showdown, and Seans pair of tens took it down (I would have split the pot with him!) Few hands later I got AKo and decided to raise the pot.... and five people called me ! I just got a draw to a straight so checked but Simon W put in a bet and ended up with 5 of us all in. Simon W had pocket kings, but Sean hit another 7 for trips on the river (so far as I remember) putting Sean into a massive chip lead and the rest of the table on around 500 chips ! That kind of set the tone for my game and for our table.... Sean kept putting in small raises and mainly winning , I was seeing a lot of middling cards and feeling obliged to see flops as there were so many callers but hit nothing. If I raised pre-flop ( I think I did once more at least) then I was getting lots of callers...
At the break, I had the minimum (double buy in) plus 100, i.e. 1100 chips which was the low stack, but not by much to most of the others. Sean had a huge chip lead with only Andy and Mick (I think) having a few thousand each
Bill the birthday boy was the first to take someone out from our table, but then his new lucky ring let him down and was the 2nd out on our table..... the pool table beckened
Surprisingly, I managed to hold on to my chips well. When all-in on the BB I didnt bother to look at my cards and Roger and Sean called. Sean put in a big bet to scare off Roger, and shows Q-3 (two pair) I flipped over Q-T (also two pair!!) so got about 2500 in chips. Bit of luck at last !
After a lot of cagey play and other peoples all-in's I survived until the 1000-500 blinds levels. Seeing A-8s and being BB next hand, decided to stick in my last few chips (about 1800) Only Sean called being BB and showed Q-3o The flop came with a 3 and so Sean took me out in 9th place ! Just to make it more annoying, Andy W was out on the other table a few seconds later, so had I hung on a couple more minutes would have made the final table.... oh well, when it isnt your night..... :-)
The final table started out tight, but with only about 20 minutes play left, the short stacks had to start playing... and they did ! Alex and Darren got taken out in quick sucession, but left 5 players to play the last four hands.... Sean on the button called, Jon called, but Steve went all-in. Sean then went all-in and Jon had a think Jon had around 6000 in chips so could have folded but put Sean on two overcards to the raggidy flop. Jon called, showing 2nd pair which was leading. The turn came down a Q to give Sean the top pair and with a blank on the river took out two players with three hands to play
Sean had about half the chips, but Andy and Roger both had about quarter each. On the second last hand, Andy and Roger went all-in with Andy taking out Roger and having a tiny chip lead over Sean. Whoever won the blinds on the last hand was the winner, so both players went all-in. Seans 3-4o looked in poor shape against two higher cards, but the turn gave Sean a straight and the win. When it's your night, it's your night :-)
For me it was a terrible night of poker, but did have a few chances so can't complain. I will have to re-think my strategy :-) Next month is our first No Limit, No rebuy of the season so is a different style of play anyway... giving me an extra month to think about how to cope if I get Sean on my table again ;-)
I was on BB with 9-3o and saw a cheap flop, which brought a 3 but two overcards. Checked but a pot sized bet scared me off and only three players got to the showdown. Sean won with one pair and I was slightly sickened as the river would have won me a huge pot, but thats Poker.... The second hand I had something like T-2o and a pot sized pre-flop raise saw me muck the hand. The flop brought aT but would have looked scarey. Sean and Roger saw the showdown, and Seans pair of tens took it down (I would have split the pot with him!) Few hands later I got AKo and decided to raise the pot.... and five people called me ! I just got a draw to a straight so checked but Simon W put in a bet and ended up with 5 of us all in. Simon W had pocket kings, but Sean hit another 7 for trips on the river (so far as I remember) putting Sean into a massive chip lead and the rest of the table on around 500 chips ! That kind of set the tone for my game and for our table.... Sean kept putting in small raises and mainly winning , I was seeing a lot of middling cards and feeling obliged to see flops as there were so many callers but hit nothing. If I raised pre-flop ( I think I did once more at least) then I was getting lots of callers...
At the break, I had the minimum (double buy in) plus 100, i.e. 1100 chips which was the low stack, but not by much to most of the others. Sean had a huge chip lead with only Andy and Mick (I think) having a few thousand each
Bill the birthday boy was the first to take someone out from our table, but then his new lucky ring let him down and was the 2nd out on our table..... the pool table beckened
Surprisingly, I managed to hold on to my chips well. When all-in on the BB I didnt bother to look at my cards and Roger and Sean called. Sean put in a big bet to scare off Roger, and shows Q-3 (two pair) I flipped over Q-T (also two pair!!) so got about 2500 in chips. Bit of luck at last !
After a lot of cagey play and other peoples all-in's I survived until the 1000-500 blinds levels. Seeing A-8s and being BB next hand, decided to stick in my last few chips (about 1800) Only Sean called being BB and showed Q-3o The flop came with a 3 and so Sean took me out in 9th place ! Just to make it more annoying, Andy W was out on the other table a few seconds later, so had I hung on a couple more minutes would have made the final table.... oh well, when it isnt your night..... :-)
The final table started out tight, but with only about 20 minutes play left, the short stacks had to start playing... and they did ! Alex and Darren got taken out in quick sucession, but left 5 players to play the last four hands.... Sean on the button called, Jon called, but Steve went all-in. Sean then went all-in and Jon had a think Jon had around 6000 in chips so could have folded but put Sean on two overcards to the raggidy flop. Jon called, showing 2nd pair which was leading. The turn came down a Q to give Sean the top pair and with a blank on the river took out two players with three hands to play
Sean had about half the chips, but Andy and Roger both had about quarter each. On the second last hand, Andy and Roger went all-in with Andy taking out Roger and having a tiny chip lead over Sean. Whoever won the blinds on the last hand was the winner, so both players went all-in. Seans 3-4o looked in poor shape against two higher cards, but the turn gave Sean a straight and the win. When it's your night, it's your night :-)
For me it was a terrible night of poker, but did have a few chances so can't complain. I will have to re-think my strategy :-) Next month is our first No Limit, No rebuy of the season so is a different style of play anyway... giving me an extra month to think about how to cope if I get Sean on my table again ;-)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)