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Well well well, what an end to December, & 2013, my heater just got hotter & hotter. Pretty sure that a variance ice-age must be approaching, but I'm enjoying it whilst it lasts.
The plan yesterday was to strain every sinew to try & reach 5,000 Reward Points, as that would give me a "bonus" £25, by upping my dividend from £75 to £100 the moment I reached 5,000. Ideally, I'd achieve that without losing money on the day.
I needed 207 points in 7 hours, & was tracking progress hourly, & it looked like I'd fall 10 or 20 ponts short, so I was ready to fire up a few cash Tables to get me over the line.
I played every £5.50 & £11 that ran, & even fired up some £2.25's late evening to help me get nearer to the total.
At 10pm, I was still 62 points shy, & at 11pm I needed another 24 points, but luckily, an £11er started @ 11.05pm, plus several £5.50's, & at 11.53pm, with 7 minutes to spare, I got over the 5,000 mark, wiiiiiii! Chuffed to bits, that extra £25 was a sort of Freeroll.
Made money on the day, too, £29, an average of £0.73 per game, & won the Game Count 25-15. I'd like to say I played well yesterday, but I did not, I had too many Tables on the go at times & made some poor decisions I think. But I ran incredibly hot in the last 2 hours, winning 8 of the last 9, & that made all the difference. I even got over the "60% of games won in the month" mark, just, which is quite an improvement from November.
So I ended December with a profit on the month of £387.34, & my £200 starting 'roll is now £855.69. That includes the Reward Money from November (about £60) but does NOT include my £100.12 from December, which will go in January's numbers when received. Think it gets paid next Tuesday.
I finished playing the moment I hit 5,000 points, just before midnight, then thought I'd browse the Forum, as New Years Eve is usually a lovely warm atmo on forums, with goodwill galore. Ugh, it was nearly all chuntery stuff, about the January Promos, which I thought was a bit depressing. Nobody has lost anything compared to previously, & yet there were moans galore. Such is life these days I suppose.
Anyyyyyyway, I wish everyone health & happiness, & even contentment, if that is not too optimistic, in 2014.
Enjoy.
Have you decided what you're playing next, staying on PLO8 or moving to PLO?
Good luck for 2014.
Mick
Wednesday 1st January
Played 25
Won 13
Lost 12
Split....
£2.25 - Played 0, won 0, Lost 0
£5.50 - Played 16, won 8, lost 8
£11.00 - Played 9, won 5, Lost 4
PROFIT/LOSS on Day £6.80
PROFIT/LOSS per game £0.27
REWARD POINTS = 170
BANKROLL at close of Play = £848.69
REWARD POINTS at close of play = 170 (= £1.70)
January to date....
Played 25
Won 13
Lost 12
Win-rate, November, 52%
Profit/Loss per game = £0.27
PROFIT/LOSS in December, £6.80
and...
Congratulations guys!
Well that was a fine start to 2014, lost £7 on Day One, & barely won the game count 13-12. Not good.
Deserved to lose, too, played badly, lacked concentration (watching darts, & fiffing & faffing about with betting & stuff), & made at least one horrendous play. I had A-K-5-2, which, with plenty of chips, is a great hand to pot with when 4 handed with blinds big. But......another guy - VERY good player - had opened already, & I never noticed. BAD bad play, right move, wrong time. He had K-K-x-x, & I failed to get. I felt really embarrassed afterwards. I always let go in these spots, because they deny me the "two ways to win" logic which is absolute & fundamental key in these things. We don't need to go to war when there are better spots with no opposition, do we? It's all about avoiding aggro. Find an open spot, pot it, all fold, on we go.
Amyway, that gave me a slap round the chops, & I was some £30 down at that stage, so I switched the telly & Forums off, moved the set up into the study (aka back bedroom) & really focussed hard. Won 6 of the last 7, including 3 @ £11, & that sort of saved the day from being a proper bloodbath.
Not best pleased with myself, safe to say.
My frame of mind was not ideal, either. New Years Day is supposed to be a happy day, where we all look forward to the year with renewed optimism, hope, & some of that lovely thing called warm human spirit, but the Community had been so chuntery all day. I'm fine with people not liking stuff, but why the rudeness? Grandad Kendall used to say "I'll chop your tongue off if you are rude again".
I actually thought long & hard about all the negative Promo noise last night, & ended up feeling sorry for Tesco & Sainsburys. Imagine the noise & toxic feedback they must get when they put, say, sliced brown bread on special offer at weekends.
But I don't like sliced brown bread, & anyway, I only shop on Thursdays......
Yikes.
Here's a nice tune from Top of the Pots, 1980 something I guess.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hkt8E2Ul-Xw
Not sure I'd call Orford a "Presenter", a bag of cement could present better, & CTBN, well, he is a hippo, they don't count.
I told Head Office that some may object to me getting this & it'll kick off. I'm slightly embarrassed to win it really, but I'll donate my prize as a Bounty on my head to whoever busts me, & I'll arrange for them to play a Tourney to that value. So that'll be £10 then.....
No, I've not decided if I shall continue with PLO8, or switch to PLO. I had planned to try the same trick with PLO, but PLO8 is so much fun.
The liquidity has increased enormously, & it'd be good to try & repeat the trick with PLO, but every time I look at the PLO DYM Lobby it is nearly empty, and I'm not sure I could do it. Weird really, in the greater scheme of things, in the wider online poker world, PLO is far more popular than PLO8. Just shows what a bit of noise, rainman style, can do, eh?
On a seperate note........I'm chuffed to bits to see guys like you have really grasped the concept of how to do OK at these. I watch you when you play, & you've got it spot on now, a few weeks ago you were a bit "raw", but you soon sussed it. As far as I am concerned, the more peope we can get to play the game well, the better.
We all get outdrawn horrendously now & then by horrific plays, & we know we'll win against these guys over time, so we don't mind, (or we should not), but my first reaction is "I'd love to help you play the game better". When a guy thinks it is OK to button limp with a 2 BB stack with 9-9-9-7, I just want to help then, not berate them.
I got turned over by 2-3-J-10 (we both had full stacks, it all went in pre), last night, & I sat there thinking "what on earth did he think he was beating?". Surely he must know he HAS to be behind when he gets potted & re-potted pre?
Guys like that MUST lose over time, & that can't be good for them, or the game.
There are some really astute regulars playing those, too. I enjoy playing those guys, a real battle of wits. I'm sure you have worked out by now who can, & can't, play. The astute ones are actually easier to play against, because they understand ranges.
I had 2 Bigs in one last night, 4 handed, & I was BB next hand at 300-600. Then Billy Big Stack # 1 & Billy Big Stack # 2 got the lot in, the 2nd guy CALLED all-in with a low only hand & went busto. Part of me was thinking "happy days", but it's a bit sad to see, too.
There are almost no coaching articles on PLO8, either, because it is such a minority interest game. Shame really, it is such a beautifully subtle game. Each to their own, of course, which is fair enough.
Anyway, for now, I'll stick with PLO8, but I'm not sure for how long.
Thursday 2nd January
Played 18
Won 12
Lost 6
Split....
£2.25 - Played 0, won 0, Lost 0
£5.50 - Played 12, won 7, lost 5
£11.00 - Played 6, won 5, Lost 1
PROFIT/LOSS on Day £68.00
PROFIT/LOSS per game £3.78
REWARD POINTS = 120
BANKROLL at close of Play = £916.69
REWARD POINTS at close of play = 290 (= £2.90)
January to date....
Played 43
Won 25
Lost 18
Win-rate, November, 58%
PROFIT/LOSS in December, £61.20
Profit/Loss per game = £1.42
Ooh, better!
Cracking night though I finished a bit early, as I had a shocking migraine.
12 from 18 is ok, but that included 5 from 6 @ £11, which is as good as it gets. And I really tried hard to focus properly last night, turned the TV off & everything. Deffo made a difference.
Mid-session, I played the Top of the Posts Freeroll, which was tremendous fun, but it cost me the other £11-er, I just can't concentrate adequately on the two different formats at the same time.
Bit of a sad thing at the start of the Top of the Posts Tourney. We had played, literally, ONE HAND, when someone arrived in the Chat Box "what is the password for this?"
All joking aside, this whole Freeroll business is quite a head-scratcher. We only have to read the Community every day to see how many people want these Freerolls. Which is good, I guess, but there HAS to be payback for the Business, not to mention how existing Clients must feel.
Sunday sees the "Winter Wonderland" Freerolls. There are 3 of them, all starting at 7pm Sunday. Total runners? Around 2,000. Total Prize Money? Not sure - £15,000, £20,000, something like that? A HUGE sum, anyway. Just imagine how many folks will be trying to get into those!
What is the password please?
And it does not even have a Password, it is "Locked", "Invite Only" so to speak. So there'll be all the "why do they get Entry & not me?", too.....
Giving money away is not as easy as some might think.....
Think I'll steer clear of the Community on Sunday evening.......
Have a great weekend, whatever you are up to.
Friday 3rd January
Played 31
Won 14
Lost 17
Split....
£2.25 - Played 0, won 0, Lost 0
£5.50 - Played 17, won 6, lost 11
£11.00 - Played 14, won 8, Lost 6
PROFIT/LOSS on Day £17.50
PROFIT/LOSS per game £0.56
REWARD POINTS = 225
BANKROLL at close of Play = £899.19
REWARD POINTS at close of play = 515 (= £5.15)
January to date....
Played 74
Won 39
Lost 35
Win-rate, November, 52.7%
PROFIT/LOSS in December, £43.70
Profit/Loss per game = £0.59
Ha!
Shocking set of numbers last night, which destroyed my batting averages, & I could not even win the Game Count, going down 17-14.
Lots of £11 games going, & they reduced my losses a tad, & just as well.
I was always struggling, went £30 down early, & never once got in profit all session. Luckily, I won two of the last 3, both @ £11, to rescue me from a real drubbing, & in the end, a £17.50 loss was far better than I hoped.
Had some comedic beats, which is fine, over time these will level out. Got the lot in pre in Level One with good aces in an £11, & lost to the somewhat optimistic 5-5-9-8.
Ditto with A-A-3-K, when the flop came 3-3-2, but my man had come along with the improbable 2-2-9-9. I was thinking "what on EARTH does this chap think he can ever beat with 2-2-9-9?", but the question answered itself, lol.
These nights are a test of character, & I know it's about volume, & just doing the right things as often as possible, so it's fine. Incredibly fun game, this PLO8.
So that was two of the losses at the £11 level.
A third loss at £11 was even more testing. Chap was abusing & mocking the whole table, though he spared me, mainly because I had not played a hand all game. Finally, I found the hand to go to war with. He opened, & I re-potted the max, just leaving me half a big Blind behind. He re-potted, excellent, let's go my friend, & I went to call. At that exact moment, my laptop died, the battery had run out as I'd forgotten to plug into the mains......goodbye another £11, lol.
Battle re-commences later today. I plan to crush. Or be crushed....
Loads of new faces in the PLO8 PYM's last night, which was great to see. At one stage, I looked in the Lobby & there were THIRTEEN PLO8 DYM's running at the same time. Never been better, & it bodes well.
Enjoy your Saturday.
How long can I keep my Sharkscope star? Think you are the 3rd or 4th person who has mentioned that in the last day or two, so I went & had a look, & it is incredibly misleading. It is for "Game Count", not Profit, too.
What appears to happen is that on January 1st each year, Sharkscope reset the annual Leaderboards, so they sort of wipe the 2013 slate, & start afresh. So I got me a star on January 1st, but only because it takes a few days for the numbers to settle, I don't have time to do the volume necessary to stay on that leaderboard. I see you are there, too, & in great shape.
My Sharkscope SNG stats were showing a loss of nearly £720 as recently as October 15th, & that loss is now down to £84, so with any luck, I'll be back in green territory soon. Then I can lose it all again.
Hope we can share tables again soon, & that you run good througout 2014. Glad to note you are my other Diary reader, too.
Saturday 4th January
Played 47
Won 24
Lost 23
Split....
£2.25 - Played 2, won 2, Lost 0
£5.50 - Played 30, won 16, lost 14
£11.00 - Played 15, won 6, Lost 9
PROFIT/LOSS on Day £46.50
PROFIT/LOSS per game £0.99
REWARD POINTS = 306
BANKROLL at close of Play = £852.69
REWARD POINTS at close of play = 821 (= £8.21)
January to date....
Played 121
Won 63
Lost 58
Win-rate, November, 52.1%
PROFIT/LOSS in December, £2.80
Profit/Loss per game = £0.02
Grim reading!
Think I'll spare you the grisly details. One of those days, it just was. Challenging.
Most games I've ever played in a day, too.
I've now dropped over £60 in the last 2 days, & am losing on the month.
I'll be back on the bike later.
GL later
I'll maybe relate the tale tomorrow.
Sunday 5th January
Played 14
Won 7
Lost 7
Split....
£2.25 - Played 0, won 0, Lost 0
£5.50 - Played 7, won 4, lost 3
£11.00 - Played 7, won 3, Lost 4
PROFIT/LOSS on Day £15.50
PROFIT/LOSS per game £1.07
REWARD POINTS = 105
BANKROLL at close of Play = £837.19
REWARD POINTS at close of play = 926 (= £9.26)
January to date....
Played 135
Won 70
Lost 65
Win-rate, November, 51.85%
PROFIT/LOSS in December, £18.30
Profit/Loss per game = £0.14
Yikes, ANOTHER losing day!
This month has gone like this so far.....
- £6.80
+£68.00
-£17.50
-£47.50
-£15.50
Pretty sure that is the first time I've lost 4 days in 5. Well overdue though, I've run so good for the last few months, so I just have to man up & take it.
Only a short session for a Sunday, I usually do 30+ games, but my head was all over the place yesterday, & I had a bit of stressy stuff going down here & there, so my heart was not really in the game. Anyway, back on the bike later. Come take my money, everyone else seems to......
There was a quite hilarious sideshow in the chatbox last night.
A young man was wooing a young lady, with only very limited success it must be noted. The Lady was playing the DYM, the chap was just railing.
He kept talking to her, & she refused to answer.
Hello
Hello
HELLO
Are you there?
ARE YOU THERE
HELLO?
Eventually she replies.
WHAT?
You can see where this is going, she was distinctly cool. In fact, I've observed this little scene between these two for 3 months now. I never comment, but it does seem an odd platform to conduct a romantic convo. Everyone else on the table goes all quiet, well it's embarrassing, isn't it?, & we all sort of look at our feet & feel a little uncomfy whilst they conduct their chat box romance.
Anyway, after Mr Romantic makes 73 attempts to coax her to talk, & tell her he cares, up pipes none other than Glenelg, who was playing the DYM.
I wuv youuuuuuuuu
Well, talk about nearly pmsl, I nearly died with laughter.
Anyway, we all decided to wish the guy Happy Birthday (his intended had apparently failed to do so), so we did a sort of chatbox karaoke rendition together, several of us.
Happy birthday to you.
Happy bitrhday to you,
Happy birthday dear.....
Happy birthday to youuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
You don't get that on 'Stars, I bet.
Anyway, no chatbox romances tonight, I need to concentrate & get back in the blue.
I wuv youuuuuuuu
Ooh, I forgot to mention, whilst playing my PLO8 stuff last night, I also played the Winter Wonderland Freeroll thing. Me & about 2,000 others.
You'll probably be aware I'm not playing NLH so good these days, & mix that up with lack of confidence & a bit of run-bad & it all makes it rather uphill & into the wind.
Anyway, I had a decent table, but the kids were bashing me up a bit, I'd 3 bet & they'd 4 bet, that sorta thing. No worries, eventually I'll make a stand.
I still had plenty of Blinds, maybe 20, or 25, and I raised it up with 7-7, but the lad who had been bashing me up all night re-raised me AGAIN.
Well I thought, enough is enough, I gotta draw a line in the sand eventually, lets do it, we are probably flipping at worst.
I re-raise all-in, & he snaps me off.
What shape am I in? I have 7-7, he has............6-6!
Happy Days, see, I CAN play NLH, I don't care what they say, I'm a playa.
i wont million.
Shame he rivered the 6 though.
Next case.