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So, I like to be nice & organised when I have a session. Turn off the TV, stop surfing, just CONCENTRATE, & have a few hours of relaxing fun. Love it to bits, I forget all my aches, pains, worries & whittles when pokering.
It was the perfect storm yesterday, one way & another.
Just as I was preparing to start, I got involved trying to hep someone sort a problem. The problem was over a Freeroll. And one point. That went well. Ish.
6 Forum Posts, 4 e-mails to & from the Office, over a single point & a Freeroll.
Did that make sense? Of course not. And helping someone who is 1 point shy, or thinks they are, what about that? Next it'll be someone else who is 2 points shy, then 3, 4 or 5. And what about those who did get their required number of points - how happy might they be if we squeeze an extra player in via the back door?
So I was a bit cross with myself, because, whatever way I look at it, it was a fail. Work smart but hard says The Business. They are right. I did a FAIL.
There was a parallel problem, too, with someone who needed a favour. 6 PM's went back & forth, & 4 E-Mails to the office. The chap asked me loads of questions, & I answered every single one, over a 4 day period. The deadline to sort it was yesterday, & my last note to him, answering all his questions, was 3 days ago. He never bothered to reply. Another waste of time. Would have been better just to send him to CC in the first place.
Not a good start, then.
And then..........
One reason the PLO8 traffic has risen so spectacularly here is that we all - or most of us - really look after, & make welcome, new players.
Say "hi", make convo, generally show a bit of warmth & friendship. It's amazingly effective.
It's what the Pros should do, all the time. Some do, of course. Some don't.
So, Newbie arrives 4 or 5 days ago. There were several regulars at the table - AJ, Hendo, etc.
The table had a player with 8,000 chips, & the rest of us were all just trying to hang in.
Suddenly, Newbie complains that we are playing as a Team. Eh?
Then claimed that Mr 8,000 chips was deliberately targeting her & stealing her BB, & we were all colluding against her because "I can see you are all mates as you are talking to each other". Ahh right, that makes us cheats then.
Given Mr 8,000 was sat to her IMMEDIATE left, nicking her BB was not really an option......
We settled her down. No no no, we don't collude. Yes yes, we chat, that's what we do. Come here & play hard, but chat.
She accepted this, or seemed to. During that evening, on 5 or 6 different tables, she apologised profusely for suggesting we were all colluding.
"Forget it, it's forgotten, just enjoy yourself, we are here every night".
So that was that.
Or so we thought.....
Apologies to all. It was a strange night.....
I had told all the fellow Ploppers about this Newbie, & asked them to make her welcome. "Yeah yeah, understood". They know the drill. & they trust me.
"Look after Newbie, she's a good kid" I said.
Then, last night, our newbie friend was on the tables again.
"Hi, how was Xmas?" we said, bla bla. No reply. Fair enough.
Then it kicked off.
In short, I bust Newbie's Aces. Well, you know, it's PLO8. It happens. A lot. Like 10 or 15 times every night to me, & anyone else who plays a bunch of games.
I do have a weakness in PLO8 for suited aces with a deuce. These are potential SCOOP hands. We don't play to win half, we play hands that can SCOOP. And suited aces with the deuce are perfect SCOOP material.
I had A-2-7-7, double suited. Newbie min-raised from the button at 25-50. I'm in the BB. I'll have a look for 50 chips, which is 2.5% of my stack. (I always calculate % of my stack).
It comes all low, 5-6-4, & 2 of my suit. Check bet call.
Turn brings my nut flush. Lovely, I have nut nut, & someone who has a big hand. Perfect.
I check, Newbie bets, we go pot pot & pot & get it all in, Newbie has bad aces, gg. The perfect "plays itself spot" for me.
Then came the accusations.
"You ALWAYS get lucky".
"Well yes, I seem to".
"And you get help from the others".
Sorry? Can you explain?
No further comment.
Never mind, too bad. She's prob just a bit tilted.
Later, I'm railing the High Roller & some other UKOPS stuff, just wishing GL to a few friends.
Suddenly, aware that I had not uttered a word all night to my PLO8 friends - & I always chat with Karen & the Team, I thought I'd find her on a table & say goodnight.
We ALWAYS say goodnight, all of us, every night. It's nice, don't you think? It's part of the pleasure.
"My last one tonight, great fun this evening, see ya tomorrow" sorta thing.
And I find Karen, sharing a table with Newbie. Who is, once again, bleating on about us all being part of a "team". Again & again. Maca has her diplomatic head on. "Unlucky". Probably because I'd given the character reference.
I felt a bit like an eavesdropper. I said nothing & left the table.
Pretty sad when folks can't take a beat, right?
And I end up going to SS, & searching for my "Most Frequent Opponents". With a limited player pool, we do get to play against each other a lot. And we chat a lot. But oh my, we play HARD.
Here's my "10 Most Frequent Opponents".
Eon
Alexis
Maca
Amarie
Whizzewky
Churchy
W4rlock
Winshoes
Jod
Can you imagine ANY of that lot taking it easy against each other? It's utterly brutal every night, as we vie to bust each other.
What strange times we live in, that people can't take a beat, & are allowed to defame all & sundry with no comeback.
We see it on the Community, every day, "Sky Poker is fraudulent". Not those words, but amounting to them. What right have they to say such things? If I were King for a Day, I'd sue every one of them.
And the worst thing was I told all my mates to look after this newbie. Good read that. Not.
Right, let's see how that turkey is getting on, with that basting thing up it's orifice.
HNY & best wishes to you, too, MOTHER.
Fingers crossed, I'll see you at UKPC in February, though if Lady Twaddle decides to come along, I'll be throwing a sickie.
xx
Yes, with hindsight, we can see the problem, & our friend is knocking it in badly. That's the problem, friendly when winning, can't take losing.
Quite sad really, & if I can help with some hints & tips, I will. Not nice when we all get labelled as "cheats" though, just because they can't beat the game.
The UKOPS PLO8 Tourney went well. Until I busted. I was really MTT ring-rusty, played too many DYM's & it requires a different mindset. In DYM's it's all about "economy" & preservation of our stack, 3rd place is all we try to achieve. In an MTT, more adventure is required, more gamble.
Best of luck in 2016 mate.
3 of us have, say, 3,700 chips each, & Shortie has 900 chips, blinds are 150-300.
If the other 2 big stacks are to my immediate left, I am folding EVERY HAND (including good aces) EVERY TIME. It just makes no sense to go to war with a big stack when the table includes a super Shortie.
If I have the Shortie behind me, I'm going to attack them at every opportunity. Why would I not?
And if you, or any of the other regulars were the shortie? Too bad, my basting doodar is heading towards your rear end. Fact. And that's what you'd do to me if I were Super Short.
DYM's are not just about hand rankings, opening & shoving ranges. Much of it is 4 handed strategy, especially with one Shortie.
I never asked him to help - he just wrote to me & volunteered.
Given that he is amongst the most successful MTT-ers on this site, I thought that was a wonderful gesture by him.
Good luck in 2016 Brian, & send my best wishes to Mrs Churchy, Ryan, & Chloe aka The Tasmanian Devil.
2015 - Year End Report
Deposited in 2015 - Nil
Withdrawn in 2015 - Nil
Opening Balance = £1,468.98
Closing Balance = £2,740.02
Profit (including Rewards & Promo money) = £1,271.04
Games played = 4,619
Ave profit per game (including Rewards & Promo money) = £0.28
I played 800 games between 3rd Jan & 8th March at a reasonable if low return.
I then stopped playing completely (UKPC, Vegas, this & that) until 15th July.
From 15th July until 2nd October I played 1,651 games, but I was treading water, not making any headway.
Initially, I suspected variance was to blame, but eventually I decided I needed to look at my game, & change some crucial components. It's all very mechanical, but over a decent sample size, little improvements make quite a difference.
From 2nd October, when I made the changes, until 27th December I played 2,071 games, & earned a profit (including Rewards & Promo) of £681.34, far & away the best 3 months of the year. In that period, my profit per game averaged £0.33, a substantial increase on the earlier rate of return.
So there it is.
It's a ridiculously low rate of return, or "hourly" as the kids call it, & I'm sure I could put that time to better use. But it's my hobby, I spend most nights playing poker with nice people, & in the process, I earn, on average, £25 or £30 per week, more if we exclude the 4 month absence in the Spring. That feels OK to me.
Love it to bits, can't tell you how much I enjoy the game.
On a more sombre note.......
I'm at the age when mental faculties start to naturally fade, &, whisper it quietly, issues such as senility, dementia, or worse creep up on us silently. It's a fact of life, there is an x% chance of it happening.
I "test myself" every day, as it scares me to bits. And you know how it is when you think you are ill, & go to google & look it up - you end up with every malaise ever invented. You do.
And what playing the DYM's does is keep my mind exercised, & busy. It is actually quite a complex game, where the low hand denies all normal poker hand rankings (pairs, sets flushes etc don't count) but the high hand is "normal rules". How bizarre is that?
Set against that, a DYM is simply obeying a disciplined SNG strategy, & needs little thought.
Playing these games 6 at a time is not "heroic" stuff, kids play 15 or 20 easily, but to me, with the complexities of PLO8, & my age, I think it's pretty useful to keep my mind ticking over a little longer.
So there it is, my Online Poker for 2015 in a nutshell.
Wonder what 2016 holds?
See you tomorrow.
Happy New Year, & thank you, to everyone who has posted on this little "Challenge Thread" in 2015.
x
Completely agree with you about the 4-handed strategy, you've got to pick on the shorty, and it's amazing how often the shorty will just give up and shove with any 4 cards. Even with say 4BB at 75-100, you've got time to pick and choose your starting hands.
May our paths cross often in 2016.
And thanks for all that you do, this thread, schooling us ploppers on a regular basis,
putting up with maca on a regular basis, helping everybody you possible can, but mostly thanks for just being a great bloke.
Kags
Thanks Kaggy, Barny, Pommy & Plump Percy, Happy New Year to you & your families, too.
Before we fully move on to 2016 numbers, I just want to record my December results, for "rpo" as it were.
Games played = 777
Profit = £195*
Profit per game = £0.25
* Includes £48.07 in Rewards payments, + a £20 Winter Giveaway Promo Bonus, = £68.07.
December Totals
£2.25, P1, W0 = 0%
£3.30, P365, W210 = 57.5%
£5.50, P279, W157 = 56.3%
£11, P132, W76 = 57.6%
TOTAL P777, W443, = 57.01%
So, a mile away from the promised land of 60%, but even at 57%, it's reasonably profitable.
Now I need to try & increase that 57%. Every additional % point adds significant profit.
Think I'll aim for a modest 57.5% in January.
Don't forget, btw, that Double Points on SNG's starts on Monday for a week.