I was somewhat burned out after the Stars Blogger Championships. Although I was still playing some 45-180 SnGs, I was spending more time doing other things.
Went on vacation in April to my mother-in-law's and my mother. Spent about two weeks away, although I had my laptop. Played spottingly while away. What a wreck. I couldn't log onto Full Tilt in Idaho, because the servers my mother-in-law's ISP had were in Spokane and Washington passed that legislation in November outlawing poker. So.....I'm driving to Utah on April 15th and can't log into Full Tilt. WTH? Black Friday. I sure am glad to be living in the Land of the Free......
So I'm without poker in Utah. Well Bodog, Cake and Merge are still open. Somewhat dejected. Although I have money in 4 Merge sites as well as Bodog and Cake. The traffic is just horrible.
I decided to play bingo instead. Yeah Bingo. That rare form of poker evident at the lowest live Limit stakes offered. You raise UtG and get 8 callers. Flop comes KJ4 and some guy raises you when you bet. People on A6o on a KQ3 flop suckout on your KQ when they stick around for running 6s and no draws. Man, I'm moving to NL when I go back.
Anyway, I have been playing single table SnGs and multi-SnGs when they fill up. Although Merge offers 90s and 180s tey don't fill. I forgot to unreg from a 90 last night and I was still regged this morning. :) Anyway. mostly playing the $2 Merge SnGs, the $2 Bodog Beginner SnGs and the $1 Cake SnGs. I'm running at a woeful 11.73% ROI. I'm break even if it weren't for the few multi-SnGs I've been able to play. Last month I managed some MTTs, mostly because they rarely have big fields so the small buy-in ones are a lot like glorified 90s or 180s.
I'll endeavor to post my results of the prior week each Monday. Good Luck out there!
03 February 2011
January Wrap-up
January was mostly 90-man SnGs, micro MTTs and satellites with a few sessions of cash games thrown in. Despite my horrid two-session live LHE fiasco, I did quite relatively well.
The SnG ROI for the month was 50.90% through 63 SnGs with the bulk being played in $1/90 KOs on PokerStars and $1/90 on Full Tilt.
MTTs/Satellites ran at a bad -73.43% ROI with most of the problems being in satellites despite an initial good start. I played a few $2 and $3 MTTs, which were above my bankroll. I know, that sounds funny, doesn't it.
Cash games were decent outside the live experience. I made $48.40, although I'm not certain how many hours I played. I played 10,322 hands although the play was spread between various levels of LHE and NLHE, so an overall rate of BB/100 [or ptBB/100 for NL] isn't easy to calculate. I do know I ran much better in LHE than NLHE, something that I need to remedy.
Stay tuned for my next post article where I go over my February goals.
The SnG ROI for the month was 50.90% through 63 SnGs with the bulk being played in $1/90 KOs on PokerStars and $1/90 on Full Tilt.
MTTs/Satellites ran at a bad -73.43% ROI with most of the problems being in satellites despite an initial good start. I played a few $2 and $3 MTTs, which were above my bankroll. I know, that sounds funny, doesn't it.
Cash games were decent outside the live experience. I made $48.40, although I'm not certain how many hours I played. I played 10,322 hands although the play was spread between various levels of LHE and NLHE, so an overall rate of BB/100 [or ptBB/100 for NL] isn't easy to calculate. I do know I ran much better in LHE than NLHE, something that I need to remedy.
Stay tuned for my next post article where I go over my February goals.
29 January 2011
WBCOOP, MTTs, Shared Stakes and Cash Games
Thursday, January 27th
The big attraction today was my first run at the WBCOOP. Thursday was also a mixed bag of satellites, MTTs and 90-man SnGs.
Got in a little kerfuffle with another blogger over a hand in the WBCOOP. I had 42o on the button. It folded to him in medium position and he raised to 150. Blinds were still 25/50, so I decided to call. Purely a Snyder move. I had position, so I called. I also still had 3.1K, so a little shot taking wasn't going to kill me. I like doing this with really trashy hands for a few reasons. First, if they miss, they are easy to fold. If they hit, they are usually well camouflaged. Small blind, a really loose calling station called and BB folded. Flop came 3AK. SB checked and MP player continuation bet 375 into the 500 chip pot. This seemed a bit weak considering he was in a multi-way pot. I put him on a weak ace or something like TT. I decided to call the bet. If I get lucky and hit a 5, great. If the turn is a good scare card, I might be able to bet him off his hand. Small blind folded. Turn was a 5. Bingo. He ends up doubling me with AK. Karma is a bitch though. An hour goes by when I get into a 4-way all-in preflop while holding Aces. I have around 6K at this point. Shortstack is all-in for 740 chips and 77. The other two stacks have me covered with KQo and QQ, Flop comes 7Qx. I could stomach the shortstack quadrupling. I mean I'd be sitting at 16K. But the QQ hitting a one outer about near made me flip my gourd.
On PokerStars I also played two 1/4 Million satellites and a Daily Ninety Grand [DNG] satellite as well as two $1/90 KOs. On Full Tilt, I played the $3.30 $4,000 Guarantee as well as a pair of $1/90s.
I didn't hit anything! Wow a disastrous day. Dropped $17.80.
Friday, January 28th
Decided on four-tabling $0.25/$0.50 LHE on PokerStars. Played 1316 hands and lost $14.50. Yuck. 29 BB loss. That's nearly a buy-in and a half. I think I played way too loose. I also was playing a bit like a calling station. I'll tighten on my next session, which should be Monday.
I'm in my final WBCOOP qualifier today.
The big attraction today was my first run at the WBCOOP. Thursday was also a mixed bag of satellites, MTTs and 90-man SnGs.
Got in a little kerfuffle with another blogger over a hand in the WBCOOP. I had 42o on the button. It folded to him in medium position and he raised to 150. Blinds were still 25/50, so I decided to call. Purely a Snyder move. I had position, so I called. I also still had 3.1K, so a little shot taking wasn't going to kill me. I like doing this with really trashy hands for a few reasons. First, if they miss, they are easy to fold. If they hit, they are usually well camouflaged. Small blind, a really loose calling station called and BB folded. Flop came 3AK. SB checked and MP player continuation bet 375 into the 500 chip pot. This seemed a bit weak considering he was in a multi-way pot. I put him on a weak ace or something like TT. I decided to call the bet. If I get lucky and hit a 5, great. If the turn is a good scare card, I might be able to bet him off his hand. Small blind folded. Turn was a 5. Bingo. He ends up doubling me with AK. Karma is a bitch though. An hour goes by when I get into a 4-way all-in preflop while holding Aces. I have around 6K at this point. Shortstack is all-in for 740 chips and 77. The other two stacks have me covered with KQo and QQ, Flop comes 7Qx. I could stomach the shortstack quadrupling. I mean I'd be sitting at 16K. But the QQ hitting a one outer about near made me flip my gourd.
On PokerStars I also played two 1/4 Million satellites and a Daily Ninety Grand [DNG] satellite as well as two $1/90 KOs. On Full Tilt, I played the $3.30 $4,000 Guarantee as well as a pair of $1/90s.
I didn't hit anything! Wow a disastrous day. Dropped $17.80.
Friday, January 28th
Decided on four-tabling $0.25/$0.50 LHE on PokerStars. Played 1316 hands and lost $14.50. Yuck. 29 BB loss. That's nearly a buy-in and a half. I think I played way too loose. I also was playing a bit like a calling station. I'll tighten on my next session, which should be Monday.
I'm in my final WBCOOP qualifier today.
26 January 2011
Must Be the Most Break-even Player Ever
Monday sees me lose a $1/90 KO on Stars and then final table bubble a $1/90 on Full Tilt. Loss of $0.52. No big deal right?
Tuesday I play another set the same as Monday's, plus a $2.20 satellite to the Sunday 1/4 Million on Stars and a $2.25 deepstack on Full Tilt. I bomb the $1/90 KO on Stars and the $2.25 Deepstack on FT. I do, however, win another satellite seat and de-reg for the T$ on Stars. I also win the $1/90 on Full Tilt. Sweet!!! Up $26.55 for the day.
Then comes today. I decide to play the $1.10r DNG satellite on PokerStars and decide to try one of Full Tilt's new multi-entry tournaments. I kinda knew going in that it was just Full Tilt's way of screwing me out of more buy-ins. I played four tables of the Daily Dollar Rebuy. Two of the tables got to the add-on stage without more than the initial rebuy and add-on, the other two each had an extra rebuy. Starting third hour, I've still got all four tables going with a big stack on one. At the end of the third hour I'm limping along with 5 BBs on one table. Culprit? I still can't win flips. AQs<99, AK<JJ, JJ<KQ, 77<AK. Finish down: $20.10.
I think I'm up $5 on the week and ~$40 on the month. Sheesh.
I know what the problem is. I suck at MTTs with big fields and tons of donks. I simply either can't win a flip or can't win when ahead. I'm really good at losing when I'm behind though.
I also need to keep within my roll and cast off the allure of big paydays until I can play them comfortably. My one exception will be to continue to play the $2 1/4 Million sats on Stars. I may be running good, but these seem very soft and winnable. I'm only 3 for 3, so if I see a downturn, I'll drop them.
My shared stake with Kinnipak is going well.
Tuesday I play another set the same as Monday's, plus a $2.20 satellite to the Sunday 1/4 Million on Stars and a $2.25 deepstack on Full Tilt. I bomb the $1/90 KO on Stars and the $2.25 Deepstack on FT. I do, however, win another satellite seat and de-reg for the T$ on Stars. I also win the $1/90 on Full Tilt. Sweet!!! Up $26.55 for the day.
Then comes today. I decide to play the $1.10r DNG satellite on PokerStars and decide to try one of Full Tilt's new multi-entry tournaments. I kinda knew going in that it was just Full Tilt's way of screwing me out of more buy-ins. I played four tables of the Daily Dollar Rebuy. Two of the tables got to the add-on stage without more than the initial rebuy and add-on, the other two each had an extra rebuy. Starting third hour, I've still got all four tables going with a big stack on one. At the end of the third hour I'm limping along with 5 BBs on one table. Culprit? I still can't win flips. AQs<99, AK<JJ, JJ<KQ, 77<
I think I'm up $5 on the week and ~$40 on the month. Sheesh.
I know what the problem is. I suck at MTTs with big fields and tons of donks. I simply either can't win a flip or can't win when ahead. I'm really good at losing when I'm behind though.
I also need to keep within my roll and cast off the allure of big paydays until I can play them comfortably. My one exception will be to continue to play the $2 1/4 Million sats on Stars. I may be running good, but these seem very soft and winnable. I'm only 3 for 3, so if I see a downturn, I'll drop them.
My shared stake with Kinnipak is going well.
23 January 2011
Nice Weekend
After breakfast with my wife on Saturday, I decided on a $1/90 KO and a $1/90 as well as a $1/4 Million $2.20 satellite at Stars. Finished the SnGs in 26th and 34th, respectively. However, I managed an $11 seat win and deregistered for the T$11. Up $6.30 on the day.
We then got ready and went to her company's Holiday Party. I know sounds a bit odd. But her company likes to celebrate it in mid- to late-January so it doesn't interfere with the employee's holiday vacations. Great hors d'oerves. We had a black sesame crusted salad on dark rice, followed by a nice petite Asian spiced filet of beef with merlot demi-glace, scallion creamed potatoes and soy glazed eggplant. Petite desserts finished off the evening's eating. I also partook, heavily in the free wine bar, drinking a nice Evodia Altovinum, Calatatayud 2008 red.
OK. I love to cook, but I'm not heavy on the fanciness above. It's a nice diversion, seriously, but I tend to cook a nice protein [steak, pork, chicken, fish or bison] and pair it with a salad and vegetable. I have enough tricks up my sleeve as well as a lot of recipes that dinner never gets boring. I also tend to do a lot of experimentation to, most often, good results.
I didn't have a hangover, despite my overindulgence, due to a timeless pre-drinking remedy. I take 2,000mg of Vitamin C prior to drinking. No hangover, although there is the tendency to be very tired the next day.
Which I was. I slept in a bit and my wife and I had breakfast. Well I had eggs and oatmeal and she had a chicken sandwich and sweet potato fries. My readers should already know that we're on a diet. She's doing Weight Watchers and has lost 30 lbs since she started right before Thanksgiving. I've lost 10 lbs since January 3rd getting back to what I know works. Counting Calories.
Anyhow, back to poker. I did another $1/90 KO and $1/90 at Stars and Full Tilt, respectively. I also played an $8K Guarantee on Stars and a $2 deepstack MTT on Full Tilt. I managed a 16th place finish at the Full Tilt $1/90. That was it. I didn't have time for any more 90s and didn't want to play an 18, 27 or 45, so I opened two tables of $0.25/$0.50 LHE on Stars and won $4.85 in 169 hands. Good for about 5.75 BB/100.
Overall, however, I finished the day down $0.43. Gasp!
I will probably play cash all week as I need to devote ample time to upload tournament schedules this week, plus the added inclusion of the next wave of FTOPS from Full Tilt. I will, however, try to also get in a few more of those juicy 1/4 Million $2 satellites and maybe a $1r Daily Ninety Grand satellite.
Thanks for reading!
We then got ready and went to her company's Holiday Party. I know sounds a bit odd. But her company likes to celebrate it in mid- to late-January so it doesn't interfere with the employee's holiday vacations. Great hors d'oerves. We had a black sesame crusted salad on dark rice, followed by a nice petite Asian spiced filet of beef with merlot demi-glace, scallion creamed potatoes and soy glazed eggplant. Petite desserts finished off the evening's eating. I also partook, heavily in the free wine bar, drinking a nice Evodia Altovinum, Calatatayud 2008 red.
OK. I love to cook, but I'm not heavy on the fanciness above. It's a nice diversion, seriously, but I tend to cook a nice protein [steak, pork, chicken, fish or bison] and pair it with a salad and vegetable. I have enough tricks up my sleeve as well as a lot of recipes that dinner never gets boring. I also tend to do a lot of experimentation to, most often, good results.
I didn't have a hangover, despite my overindulgence, due to a timeless pre-drinking remedy. I take 2,000mg of Vitamin C prior to drinking. No hangover, although there is the tendency to be very tired the next day.
Which I was. I slept in a bit and my wife and I had breakfast. Well I had eggs and oatmeal and she had a chicken sandwich and sweet potato fries. My readers should already know that we're on a diet. She's doing Weight Watchers and has lost 30 lbs since she started right before Thanksgiving. I've lost 10 lbs since January 3rd getting back to what I know works. Counting Calories.
Anyhow, back to poker. I did another $1/90 KO and $1/90 at Stars and Full Tilt, respectively. I also played an $8K Guarantee on Stars and a $2 deepstack MTT on Full Tilt. I managed a 16th place finish at the Full Tilt $1/90. That was it. I didn't have time for any more 90s and didn't want to play an 18, 27 or 45, so I opened two tables of $0.25/$0.50 LHE on Stars and won $4.85 in 169 hands. Good for about 5.75 BB/100.
Overall, however, I finished the day down $0.43. Gasp!
I will probably play cash all week as I need to devote ample time to upload tournament schedules this week, plus the added inclusion of the next wave of FTOPS from Full Tilt. I will, however, try to also get in a few more of those juicy 1/4 Million $2 satellites and maybe a $1r Daily Ninety Grand satellite.
Thanks for reading!
21 January 2011
MTTs vs SnGs
I'm definitely running better in SnGs than in MTTs. OK, let's face it, my ROI is -100% in MTTs. I don't know if it is the larger fields, worse players [although it's hard to get much worse than your average $1/90 player], or if I just have bad MTT skills or bad luck. Whatever the reason, I've been proving to myself that I am a better small field [27 - 180] player.
Thursday I played a bit of micro MTTs all over. And lost each one. Played the Micro Madness at Poker4Ever. Played a $1 freezeout on Full Tilt and Bodog. Played teh Fast Fifty Freezeout at Lock as well as the $400 Deepstack at UB. I bubbled four of five. Maybe that's it? Maybe I'm a bit too aggressive on the bubble? But my stacks were all over the place and I did take beats. AK lost to AJ on a AQT flop when board ran out 8 and 9. Had a big stack there near the bubble. QQ ran into AA at UB. I had a big stack there. Pushed a short stack ATo in QQ. Pushed short stack A7s into AK. I just don't seem to have the luck in the cusp. Maybe it turns around, who knows.
Today I played two $1/90 KOs and two $1/90s at Stars and Full Tilt, respectively. Trashed at Stars. Out 42nd and 30th with one bounty. That bounty was harsh. I got involved 3 way vs A9o and J9o while holding AQ. J9o won with a running straight. I had more chips than A9o, who had J9o covered, so I got his bounty...and my stack devastated vs a BB who never should have called the push and counterpush.
On Full Tilt I managed a 16th, after AJ lost to AT and 5th. My A7o lost to ATo all-in pre despite flopping a fourflush to my ace. Bleh.
Down $4.12 Thursday, up $3.17 today. Tonight I'm with the guys playing World in Flames. Tomorrow night, my wife's company having their annual holiday party. They do it mid-January so everyone is back from Holiday vacations. Should get another set of four 90s in tomorrow. Or maybe more mayhem in MTTs.
Need to get back to earning money in cash games next week.
Thursday I played a bit of micro MTTs all over. And lost each one. Played the Micro Madness at Poker4Ever. Played a $1 freezeout on Full Tilt and Bodog. Played teh Fast Fifty Freezeout at Lock as well as the $400 Deepstack at UB. I bubbled four of five. Maybe that's it? Maybe I'm a bit too aggressive on the bubble? But my stacks were all over the place and I did take beats. AK lost to AJ on a AQT flop when board ran out 8 and 9. Had a big stack there near the bubble. QQ ran into AA at UB. I had a big stack there. Pushed a short stack ATo in QQ. Pushed short stack A7s into AK. I just don't seem to have the luck in the cusp. Maybe it turns around, who knows.
Today I played two $1/90 KOs and two $1/90s at Stars and Full Tilt, respectively. Trashed at Stars. Out 42nd and 30th with one bounty. That bounty was harsh. I got involved 3 way vs A9o and J9o while holding AQ. J9o won with a running straight. I had more chips than A9o, who had J9o covered, so I got his bounty...and my stack devastated vs a BB who never should have called the push and counterpush.
On Full Tilt I managed a 16th, after AJ lost to AT and 5th. My A7o lost to ATo all-in pre despite flopping a fourflush to my ace. Bleh.
Down $4.12 Thursday, up $3.17 today. Tonight I'm with the guys playing World in Flames. Tomorrow night, my wife's company having their annual holiday party. They do it mid-January so everyone is back from Holiday vacations. Should get another set of four 90s in tomorrow. Or maybe more mayhem in MTTs.
Need to get back to earning money in cash games next week.
20 January 2011
PokerStars Score
Well Tuesday didn't go well at all. I started the joint Kinnipak/Pi swap. Twenty $1 SnGs. I'm playing the $1/90 KOs on Stars [10] and $1/90 Deepstack SnGs on Full Tilt.
I played two $1/90 KOs and a non-stake $1/45 on Stars as well as two $1/90s and a non-stake $1/45 on Full Tilt. In addition, I played the Daily Dollar Rebuy.
I finished 10th in a Full Tilt $1/90 as well as 9th in a Stars $1/90 KO. I bombed the Daily Dollar while spending $5 in that overall. Not a good day. Down $10.41 for Tuesday.
Wednesday was better. I played a pair of $1/90 KOs on Stars and two $1/90s on Full Tilt. I added the $400 Deepstack MTT on UB and another run at the Daily Dollar Rebuy. Both tournaments were a disaster. I simply cannot understand how people play the way they do....
In the stake SnGs, I managed 11th and 12th at Full Tilt. I won one of the $1.90 KOs and 36th in the other. 7 bounties between the two. Here's the funny part. I had no bounties when I hit the final table, but picked up 5 there [as well as get mine refunded]. Yikes. Up $19.45 on Wednesday.
I played two $1/90 KOs and a non-stake $1/45 on Stars as well as two $1/90s and a non-stake $1/45 on Full Tilt. In addition, I played the Daily Dollar Rebuy.
I finished 10th in a Full Tilt $1/90 as well as 9th in a Stars $1/90 KO. I bombed the Daily Dollar while spending $5 in that overall. Not a good day. Down $10.41 for Tuesday.
Wednesday was better. I played a pair of $1/90 KOs on Stars and two $1/90s on Full Tilt. I added the $400 Deepstack MTT on UB and another run at the Daily Dollar Rebuy. Both tournaments were a disaster. I simply cannot understand how people play the way they do....
In the stake SnGs, I managed 11th and 12th at Full Tilt. I won one of the $1.90 KOs and 36th in the other. 7 bounties between the two. Here's the funny part. I had no bounties when I hit the final table, but picked up 5 there [as well as get mine refunded]. Yikes. Up $19.45 on Wednesday.
18 January 2011
Step Away for a few Weeks.....
....and not play SnGs and my results are disastrous.
So I had Sunday off in San Jose. Bi-weekly D&D session. Chrystaline trolls, bullettes and nagas dispatched and crises diverted. Oh and I kept to my diet....always a good plus! I'm down 9.2 pounds since I started getting in shape.
Pokerwise? Hmmm....Not so good.
Played the Daily Dollar rebuy on Full Tilt as well as four $1/90s. At the same time I played five $1/90 KOs. I lost three of the 90s in the first dozen hands. Always well ahead and some hinky suckouts. Between the five KOs I managed an 8th as well as a combined 3 bounties.
Total loss: -$10.41
Starting a 20-game session of $1/90s with my friend from ITH, Kinnipak. We're going to split profits, so I am hoping I keep up my end of the bargain. I'm hoping we both enjoy this enough and maybe do a 100-game set. You can follow my progress through my spreadsheet - here.
So I had Sunday off in San Jose. Bi-weekly D&D session. Chrystaline trolls, bullettes and nagas dispatched and crises diverted. Oh and I kept to my diet....always a good plus! I'm down 9.2 pounds since I started getting in shape.
Pokerwise? Hmmm....Not so good.
Played the Daily Dollar rebuy on Full Tilt as well as four $1/90s. At the same time I played five $1/90 KOs. I lost three of the 90s in the first dozen hands. Always well ahead and some hinky suckouts. Between the five KOs I managed an 8th as well as a combined 3 bounties.
Total loss: -$10.41
Starting a 20-game session of $1/90s with my friend from ITH, Kinnipak. We're going to split profits, so I am hoping I keep up my end of the bargain. I'm hoping we both enjoy this enough and maybe do a 100-game set. You can follow my progress through my spreadsheet - here.
15 January 2011
Saturday MTT Blahs
What can I say. I don't tend to do well on Saturdays. Couple this tendency with my left should socket tightening up and throbbing half the morning and the unfortunate necessity of taking a painkiller and I was playing a little too aggro for my own tastes. I played a pair of $1/90s on Full Tilt as well as the following MTTs:
Down $19.12 on the day.
Tomorrow I'll be completely away from poker. I also posted a stake at ITH known as Pi's Poker Stake. I'm hoping this is successful. If it is, not only will I grow my roll, but so will all of my friends. If interested, contact me through that post at Internettexasholdem.com.
Good Luck at the tables and see you Monday!
- $1 Freezeout on Full Tilt
- $5,000 Guarantee [$2] on PokerStars
- $2,000 Guarantee [$11] on Poker Host
- The $400 Deepstack [$1] and $250 Guarantee [$0.25 rebuy] on UB
Down $19.12 on the day.
Tomorrow I'll be completely away from poker. I also posted a stake at ITH known as Pi's Poker Stake. I'm hoping this is successful. If it is, not only will I grow my roll, but so will all of my friends. If interested, contact me through that post at Internettexasholdem.com.
Good Luck at the tables and see you Monday!
Cash Thursday/SnG Friday
Well it was inevitable. I was running decently enough in cash games that the variance bugaboo had to settle on me. Thursday was that day. I lost a bit in Stars [$4.50] and a bit on Full Tilt [$11.60]. About a buy-in on each site since Stars is still $0.25/$0.50 FL and Full Tilt is still $0.50/$1. I could bump up PokerStars, but don't feel like artificially inflating my bankroll just to play higher. I know I could win at $0.50/$1 there, but am in no hurry.
What does strike me as odd is the huge disparity in number of hands played between the two sites. I played a bit over 4 hours on each site, 2 tables at each, but I played 324 hands at Stars and 619 at Full Tilt. Are the players at Stars really that slow? Broken down, it appears I'm playing 40 hands per hour at Stars and 77 hands per hour at Full Tilt. What the hell? 40 hands per hour is on par [or possibly a little less] than one could expect to play at a live venue with a table shuffler. 77 hands per hour at Full Tilt is a bit more hands than can be expected. I've always expected about 60 hands per hour in an online environment where you are not playing on a Fast/Speed table. This could have huge implications for earn rates and is something I am going to start tracking from here on out.
Friday I decided on SnGs. I have been noticing poor cash game results on Fridays lately. Perhaps the chasing is a bit more loose and aggressive, perhaps it is due to the Europeans being inebriated and much less inclined to letting go hands and/or just getting alcohol-induced aggression. Who knows?
I played a pair of $0.25/90s on PokerStars and two $1/90s on Full Tilt. Managed to get an 11th and 7th on Full Tilt, while bubbling a 90-man on Stars. Didn't have enough time to add more multi-SnGs, so I decided to play some single table SnGs. My choice came down to three $1 PokerStars SnGs, a $2 Full Tilt SnG and a $4 Bodog Beginner SnG. Bubble a PokerStars SnG and managed a 3rd at Bodog. I also went out first hand of the Stars SnGs when AKo lost to 96o which in turn lost to KQo. I'm not folding AK on the first hand of a $1 SnG.
Meager $0.63 profit.
What does strike me as odd is the huge disparity in number of hands played between the two sites. I played a bit over 4 hours on each site, 2 tables at each, but I played 324 hands at Stars and 619 at Full Tilt. Are the players at Stars really that slow? Broken down, it appears I'm playing 40 hands per hour at Stars and 77 hands per hour at Full Tilt. What the hell? 40 hands per hour is on par [or possibly a little less] than one could expect to play at a live venue with a table shuffler. 77 hands per hour at Full Tilt is a bit more hands than can be expected. I've always expected about 60 hands per hour in an online environment where you are not playing on a Fast/Speed table. This could have huge implications for earn rates and is something I am going to start tracking from here on out.
Friday I decided on SnGs. I have been noticing poor cash game results on Fridays lately. Perhaps the chasing is a bit more loose and aggressive, perhaps it is due to the Europeans being inebriated and much less inclined to letting go hands and/or just getting alcohol-induced aggression. Who knows?
I played a pair of $0.25/90s on PokerStars and two $1/90s on Full Tilt. Managed to get an 11th and 7th on Full Tilt, while bubbling a 90-man on Stars. Didn't have enough time to add more multi-SnGs, so I decided to play some single table SnGs. My choice came down to three $1 PokerStars SnGs, a $2 Full Tilt SnG and a $4 Bodog Beginner SnG. Bubble a PokerStars SnG and managed a 3rd at Bodog. I also went out first hand of the Stars SnGs when AKo lost to 96o which in turn lost to KQo. I'm not folding AK on the first hand of a $1 SnG.
Meager $0.63 profit.
12 January 2011
Limit and No-Limit....with some STTs thrown in
Played mostly cash games today with mixed results. 5 winning tables and one that spit in my eye all session. Finished up on PokerStars today at $0.25/$0.50 LHE for $10.70. I had a time of it on Full Tilt playing $0.50/$1. One table was humming quite nicely, while the other required an infusion of half a buy-in more. In the end, however, I finished up $26.55 through 520+ hands. I decided to do some NL10 play on Poker Host. Once again, had a good table and a bad one. Problem is, getting stacked 3 times on the bad one meant digging out of a hole. Something I was unable to do all day. Down on Poker Host by $23.29. Overall profit was $13.96.
I thought I was through for the day, but my wife wanted to catch up on all her reality shows and my shoulder is out of whack, so I stayed off the Wii. Plugged into two $1 STTs on Stars and two $5 STTs on Full Tilt. Managed a 9th and 2nd on Stars and a pair of 3rds on Ful Tilt. Put me up an extra $7.30, so I finished over $20 today. Could have been better.
I pressed a few too many times on that Poker Host table and probably could have saved some of my money. Was hard not to call a shortstack's push while holding AJ on a AKJ flop.
Oh well!
I thought I was through for the day, but my wife wanted to catch up on all her reality shows and my shoulder is out of whack, so I stayed off the Wii. Plugged into two $1 STTs on Stars and two $5 STTs on Full Tilt. Managed a 9th and 2nd on Stars and a pair of 3rds on Ful Tilt. Put me up an extra $7.30, so I finished over $20 today. Could have been better.
I pressed a few too many times on that Poker Host table and probably could have saved some of my money. Was hard not to call a shortstack's push while holding AJ on a AKJ flop.
Oh well!
11 January 2011
The Beats! The Beats!
Well I made $1.40 in 874 hands of $0.25/$0.50 LHE at Stars and $11.95 at $0.50/$1 at Full Tilt. The beats were unreal today. The epitome was having KK and capping 3 way preflop. Flop comes out KA7 rainbow. SB leads out, BB raises, I 3-bet and SB caps. Turn is a 6. SB leads out, BB calls, I raise, SB re-raises, call, I cap. River A. Same betting pattern. SB has A6o. BB has QQ. SB called a cap preflop with A6o and gets rewarded.
Although I had a multitude of bad beats today, this was the one that tilted me. Here was one of my New Year's resolutions:
"No typing in online chatboxes other than words of encouragement like nh or ty. Failure to do so requires the deposit of a quarter in the bad-boy jar. Said fund will be donated to the Democratic Party on January 1st 2012."
So I made it 10 full days without having to make a donation. Believe me, it's not like the idiocy has been avoiding me. The horrid players are everywhere.
Edit: Finished up the night playing a pair of $0.25/90s on Stars and pair of $1/90s on Full Tilt. Bubbled on on each site and made no money, dragging down my cash game win a bit.
Although I had a multitude of bad beats today, this was the one that tilted me. Here was one of my New Year's resolutions:
"No typing in online chatboxes other than words of encouragement like nh or ty. Failure to do so requires the deposit of a quarter in the bad-boy jar. Said fund will be donated to the Democratic Party on January 1st 2012."
So I made it 10 full days without having to make a donation. Believe me, it's not like the idiocy has been avoiding me. The horrid players are everywhere.
Edit: Finished up the night playing a pair of $0.25/90s on Stars and pair of $1/90s on Full Tilt. Bubbled on on each site and made no money, dragging down my cash game win a bit.
10 January 2011
PokerStars Limit Holdem
I missed a few blog days, but rather than go over my minuscule wins [and bad day Friday], I'll state what happened today and hopefully start hitting the blog each day from here.
Today I four-tabled PokerStars $0.25/$0.50 limit fullring. I also threw in a $0.25/90. I was down to two tables when I busted the SnG, I'd taken a big hit when I ran AJ on a J high flop into a limped KK. I managed, however, to build the stack back up through a pair of bad players who paid my shoves off. Finished 17th. On Full Tilt that would have been a cash, but Stars pays 12, so I missed the money. Not too worried. Unlike last year, I'm so far running positive on Stars.
Anyway back to the cash games. I started very slowly with one table working decent and basically keeping me even. The play at this limit is horrid. Before I knew it I was down about a buy-in [$10]. People chasing gutshots and other assorted mayhem. I dunno. Perhaps it's too much to expect someone to drop 3rd pair after the two people in front bet and raise.....
So I finished after nearly 15 table hours up $25.50 [minus the $0.25 SnG]. That's a bit more than 3 BB/100 on the day.
Today I four-tabled PokerStars $0.25/$0.50 limit fullring. I also threw in a $0.25/90. I was down to two tables when I busted the SnG, I'd taken a big hit when I ran AJ on a J high flop into a limped KK. I managed, however, to build the stack back up through a pair of bad players who paid my shoves off. Finished 17th. On Full Tilt that would have been a cash, but Stars pays 12, so I missed the money. Not too worried. Unlike last year, I'm so far running positive on Stars.
Anyway back to the cash games. I started very slowly with one table working decent and basically keeping me even. The play at this limit is horrid. Before I knew it I was down about a buy-in [$10]. People chasing gutshots and other assorted mayhem. I dunno. Perhaps it's too much to expect someone to drop 3rd pair after the two people in front bet and raise.....
So I finished after nearly 15 table hours up $25.50 [minus the $0.25 SnG]. That's a bit more than 3 BB/100 on the day.
06 January 2011
Start of 2011
I've decided to concentrate on cash games in January. I might sneak a few 90s or 180s in and possibly a tournament or two, but the main focus is to play cash.
Managed to play a little on New Years Day, but not much. I spent most of the day prepping my excel spreadsheet for Bankroll for the new year. I did play some microstakes $0.02/$0.04 LHE on Ultimate Bet as I tinkered with the spreadsheet posting a $0.54 win in 111 hands good for 12.16 BB/100. Tweaking the spreadsheet from 2010 meant grabbing the MTTs and SnGs also and making sure they were still being spread. Some did change and I saw one added within my bankroll.
Sunday I managed to lose slightly more than 22BBs [$11.10] of $0.25/$0.50 LHE in 169 hands at PokerStars before running to San Jose for my semi-monthly Geek Day.
Monday, after finishing up some ITH/IPR projects, I popped open one table of NL4 on each of Cake Poker and Lock Poker while also playing $0.50/$1 FL on Full Tilt and $0.25/$0.50 FL on Stars. I got butt-kicked early, but managed to fight to a +$0.25 profit plus an extra little bit of rakeback on Cake and Lock. Overall, a meager $0.97 profit.
Tuesday and Wednesday were spent playing $3/$6 LHE at the California Grand Casino. What a disaster. I've never had so many really good hands get killed. I'd watch people pull down 10-12 BB pots with a pair and yet I lost two pair, sets, flushes and straights to better hands that should never have either been played or progressed past the flop. One hand really stands out and is a very good representation of what transpired over the two days.
I get dealt Ks8s in the SB. The casino runs blinds at 3-2-2 with the button paying a blind. Most cardrooms in the Bay Area that carry a bad beat jackpot had these aggressive blind structures. The $3/$6 game, however, with no jackpot runs a standard 3-1 BB/SB. Anyway, no one should ever fold a blind in the California Grand $3/$6 game short of a raise up front. With the amounts of limpers the odds you get with any two cards are huge. Anyway, the flop comes out KcJs8h. I bet out, one person calls and the CO raises me. I 3-bet him, the other caller folds and the CO calls. Turn is a 5h. I bet out and he calls. River is a 5d. Once again I bet out, but this time the CO raises. The pot is too big to fold to the huge fish who has been buying pots all day. I call. He shows 5c3s. OK, I might save a BB on the river, but this player is not stopping on the flop if he hit two pair or a set. He's also not calling if he turned a set. He's much too aggressive. This hand was simply a microcosm of the two days. I remarked to my wife that I should have seen the writing on the wall on the first hand I played each day. I lost a flopped straight of 45678 holding 87s to 92o on Tuesday. Wednesday I flopped a set of 7s and lost to a runner runner flush. Between the two days I dropped $526. Yes ugly. My biggest mistake was assuming I could charge up my $900 live bankroll at $3/$6. Of course, I knew I was under-rolled and variance bit me in the ass. Bleh.
Thursday [today] I did much better online. I popped open a pair of $0.50/$1 LHE tables on Full Tilt and a pair of $0.25/$0.50 LHE tables on PokerStars. Managed to win $22.90 on Stars and $43.65 on Full Tilt for a profit of $66.55. Now that felt good.
More cash games tomorrow before heading back down to San Jose.
Managed to play a little on New Years Day, but not much. I spent most of the day prepping my excel spreadsheet for Bankroll for the new year. I did play some microstakes $0.02/$0.04 LHE on Ultimate Bet as I tinkered with the spreadsheet posting a $0.54 win in 111 hands good for 12.16 BB/100. Tweaking the spreadsheet from 2010 meant grabbing the MTTs and SnGs also and making sure they were still being spread. Some did change and I saw one added within my bankroll.
Sunday I managed to lose slightly more than 22BBs [$11.10] of $0.25/$0.50 LHE in 169 hands at PokerStars before running to San Jose for my semi-monthly Geek Day.
Monday, after finishing up some ITH/IPR projects, I popped open one table of NL4 on each of Cake Poker and Lock Poker while also playing $0.50/$1 FL on Full Tilt and $0.25/$0.50 FL on Stars. I got butt-kicked early, but managed to fight to a +$0.25 profit plus an extra little bit of rakeback on Cake and Lock. Overall, a meager $0.97 profit.
Tuesday and Wednesday were spent playing $3/$6 LHE at the California Grand Casino. What a disaster. I've never had so many really good hands get killed. I'd watch people pull down 10-12 BB pots with a pair and yet I lost two pair, sets, flushes and straights to better hands that should never have either been played or progressed past the flop. One hand really stands out and is a very good representation of what transpired over the two days.
I get dealt Ks8s in the SB. The casino runs blinds at 3-2-2 with the button paying a blind. Most cardrooms in the Bay Area that carry a bad beat jackpot had these aggressive blind structures. The $3/$6 game, however, with no jackpot runs a standard 3-1 BB/SB. Anyway, no one should ever fold a blind in the California Grand $3/$6 game short of a raise up front. With the amounts of limpers the odds you get with any two cards are huge. Anyway, the flop comes out KcJs8h. I bet out, one person calls and the CO raises me. I 3-bet him, the other caller folds and the CO calls. Turn is a 5h. I bet out and he calls. River is a 5d. Once again I bet out, but this time the CO raises. The pot is too big to fold to the huge fish who has been buying pots all day. I call. He shows 5c3s. OK, I might save a BB on the river, but this player is not stopping on the flop if he hit two pair or a set. He's also not calling if he turned a set. He's much too aggressive. This hand was simply a microcosm of the two days. I remarked to my wife that I should have seen the writing on the wall on the first hand I played each day. I lost a flopped straight of 45678 holding 87s to 92o on Tuesday. Wednesday I flopped a set of 7s and lost to a runner runner flush. Between the two days I dropped $526. Yes ugly. My biggest mistake was assuming I could charge up my $900 live bankroll at $3/$6. Of course, I knew I was under-rolled and variance bit me in the ass. Bleh.
Thursday [today] I did much better online. I popped open a pair of $0.50/$1 LHE tables on Full Tilt and a pair of $0.25/$0.50 LHE tables on PokerStars. Managed to win $22.90 on Stars and $43.65 on Full Tilt for a profit of $66.55. Now that felt good.
More cash games tomorrow before heading back down to San Jose.
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