Albion's Adventures in Pokerland

ladyalbion

So when I started playing more regularly on Sky Poker, I threatened I might do a diary and here it is.  I aim to post at least once a month about how I'm getting on.  Here's my thoughts on how November went.

Well the first thing I learned was that it was a bad choice of username, as everyone constantly seems to ask me / tease me about West Brom in the chatbox and I am completely clueless  To be honest I'm not really into football (like plenty of other sports, just not football) so I didn't even think about that rather obvious meaning for Albion.  I just chose it cos its in a song I like.  Oh well

Poker wise, I think it has been a good first month.  I've been playing lots of 0.05/0.10 cash, some micro DYMs, and some micro/freeroll tournaments.  I've ended the month £54 up which I am really pleased with.  It's probably my first month of showing a decent profit at poker, I have been breaking even for a while on other sites but not really seeing profit.  Obviously it could just be first month luck / run good although I think I have been running pretty even.  With reward points it will be £75 profit which is really great tbh.

I'd say it's almost all come from the cash.  DYMs I am running at 56% wins so probably breaking even.  Tournaments have been a bit frustrating - done well in the freerolls and won seats a few times, but then not turned them into cashes.  I haven't played enough to notice a pattern - this is why I prefer cash really as waiting for a tourney cash is really frustrating.  But I would like to improve my tourney game.

I have really enjoyed the cash play though.  I think I have some good strenghts - I am quite patient and calm at the table and happy to play my fairly tight game and wait for good spots.  I've been working on my table selection and note taking.  I think my biggest weaknesses at the moment are randomly losing discipline and spewing off chips with big useless bluffs, and also I think I lose value sometimes by playing too cautiously.  Also sometimes calling knowing full well I am beat but wanting to know what by - that is a really expensive trait of mine!

It has been a really fun first month though and I like the site and the community a lot (and Anna showed my cat on tv which was awesome).  So say hi if you see me on the tables

VespaPX

GL with your poker

hhyftrftdr

If the name derives from 'Down In Albion' by Babyshambles, I think we'll get on

Gl with it all.

Machka

You seem like a level headed, analytic, thinking poker player.  Not like the usual riff raff we get around here.  ;-)

I'm sure you'll do well.

You're the sort of poker player tikay likes to see around the place so he'll be on your case before long I'm sure.

Interestingly my cat, Machka, has also been shown on Sky Poker.  By accident the producer mixed up pictures and showed my cat by mistake.  This made James Hartigan the presenter at the time have a fit of giggles for the next 5 minutes!

ladyalbion

A bit of a mid month update for December.  Fair to say it's been a pretty fab month.

£324 profit so far at the tables, plus a £75 promo win and £22 in poker points, so I am £425 up - needless to say this is a huge HUGE boost to my bankroll.  It's a bit dizzying really and I am a bit worried I will just spew it all away!  So I've not been playing as much cash - not been enjoying it as much anyway and I think I am about -£20 for cash so far this month.

The boost is mainly down to 2 big MTT cashes (for me) - a £205 in the apparently very contraversial Club 100 freeroll, and a £96 in last night's turbo.

Also been doing good at the DYMs - spent some time reading up on proper DYM strategy as I never played them on others sites, and since then my winrate has shot up.  At 64% so far for December, but about 80% since I did my studying  I started with 0.60 and 1.15 but now that my bankroll is so much more healthy I have been playing the £5.50s and really liking them

I'm aware that this is an upswing and there'll be a downswing at some point!  Keep thinking about last Christmas when I played a lot on pokerstars out of boredom mainly, and spewed off almost my whole bankroll which I had been carefully cultivating for months.  Don't want to do that again!  So I think I'll stick to DYMs and MTTs where I am a lot less likely to get spewy

Run good all!

Glenelg

GL Lady!   Will def be reading.   BUT in true Tikay style....we need to know a bit about Ladyalbion.

E.g.  

 Why the name?

Location

Hobbies

etc

etc

;-)

oh & GL

ladyalbion

Thanks Glenelg, I will have a go at your questions!

Why the name - one of my favourite songs, Border Reiver by Mark Knopfler, has a line that goes 'she's an Albion' so I took it from that.  I am absolutely not a West Brom fan

I live in London, well actually in Uxbridge which is right on the west outskirts of London, basically as far out of London as you can get before it's not London any more.  I work right in the centre of London so have a 'fun' commute.  I live with hubby and 2 cats.

I am a bit of a serial hobbyist, have way too many and often end up neglecting one thing for the other.  Other than poker I am doing an Open University degree in Maths (due to finish this in June after 5.5 years...), and I do archery.  Archery is a really awesome sport, and lots of the psychology is a bit like poker.  And I read a lot and like playing games, card games, puzzles, board games, anything really.  And I play far too much on the xbox

Machka

Hi Lucy,

Poker, Xbox, Cats, The Open University, Club 100 freeroll (I didn't cash) - so many similarities.

I have vaguely fond memories of my OU course, do any of M101, M205, M203, M261, MST204, M353, MT365, M206, M301 still exist?

bludreid11

HI, good luck with your  hobby of poker.
i hope you continue to run good, i have played you on the Cash tables, now can i have my money back.

 ALBION, there are a few places with that name however, ALBION is the old celtic name for Scotland,
 There was also a time that it was used as a name for the UK.
 None of which relate to football.
I hope this helps

ladyalbion

In Response to Re: Albion's Adventures in Pokerland:

Hi Lucy, Poker, Xbox, Cats, The Open University, Club 100 freeroll (I didn't cash) - so many similarities. I have vaguely fond memories of my OU course, do any of M101, M205, M203, M261, MST204, M353, MT365, M206, M301 still exist?
Posted by Machka

Yes some of those courses are very familiar!  Most of them have been renamed now but they are basically the same course - so M203 is now M208 (my favourite course so far), MST204 is MST209 (hated that!), and I'm currently doing MT365 which seems quite fun so far!  That's the only one that still exists in the same form I think.

I was really determined to cash in that freeroll, it was such a huge prizepool.  Think I came somewhere in the teens.

ladyalbion

In Response to Re: Albion's Adventures in Pokerland:

HI, good luck with your  hobby of poker. i hope you continue to run good, i have played you on the Cash tables, now can i have my money back.  ALBION, there are a few places with that name however, ALBION is the old celtic name for Scotland,  There was also a time that it was used as a name for the UK.  None of which relate to football. I hope this helps
Posted by bludreid11

I'm staying off the cash tables for the moment - did really well on them last month, but have a feeling I will just be giving everyone their money back if I play at the moment!  The 0.05/0.10 tables just seem very high variance cos so many people play really loose.

Yeah I am a bit of a Scot-ophile which is also why I liked the word.  And Albion seems to crop up in a lot of folk music that I like.  There was a gig called Daughters of Albion I went to years ago (think it was shown on BBC4) which was very cool so that was in my mind as well.

ladyalbion

What a fun day.  Some good, some bad and some ugly.

The good - managed to win a satellite into the main event semi and then win again for a place in the main event, double satellites ftw  One of them I completely folded my way to victory with about 4BB, as did a guy who had 1/6th of a big blind on the bubble, and still made it.

The bad - didn't manage to cash in the main event, got knocked out around 70th with 50 places paid which is always annoying, but at least a fairly deep run in a big tournament way above my normal level, and I took 2 bounties so still in profit for the day's adventures. 

The ugly - this hand was basically my downfall in the main, so I'm not blaming myself too much!

Player	Action	Cards	Amount	Pot	Balance
ladyalbion	Small blind		200.00	200.00	6279.00
logic1414	Big blind		400.00	600.00	5166.50
	Your hole cards	66
Massoud10	Fold
AeroTop	Fold
oneluv1979	Fold
ladyalbion	Raise		600.00	1200.00	5679.00
logic1414	Call		400.00	1600.00	4766.50
Flop
		363
ladyalbion	Bet		800.00	2400.00	4879.00
logic1414	Call		800.00	3200.00	3966.50
Turn
		3
ladyalbion	Check
logic1414	Check
River
		K
ladyalbion	All-in		4879.00	8079.00	0.00
logic1414	All-in		3966.50	12045.50	0.00
ladyalbion	Unmatched bet		912.50	11133.00	912.50
ladyalbion	Show	66
logic1414	Show	J3
logic1414	Win	Four 3s	11133.00		11133.00

I'm sure I'll laugh about it soon.  Well maybe.

F_Ivanovic

Be interesting to see some of your "big useless bluffs" that you think are bad/spewy? 

Bluffing is an important part of poker and whilst at the lower levels you definitely should be value betting more than bluffing, there is merit in bluffing in certain spots. One of my favourite poker sayings is: "If you never get caught bluffing then you aren't bluffing enough." It's completely fine to get your hand caught in the cookie jar as long as it's not in their too often!! And if you do get caught it can also be great advertising for getting paid off when you do actually have a hand

ladyalbion

In Response to Re: Albion's Adventures in Pokerland:

Be interesting to see some of your "big useless bluffs" that you think are bad/spewy?  Bluffing is an important part of poker and whilst at the lower levels you definitely should be value betting more than bluffing, there is merit in bluffing in certain spots. One of my favourite poker sayings is: "If you never get caught bluffing then you aren't bluffing enough." It's completely fine to get your hand caught in the cookie jar as long as it's not in their too often!! And if you do get caught it can also be great advertising for getting paid off when you do actually have a hand
Posted by F_Ivanovic

I'll post one next time I do one.  Haven't done it for a while actually.  They always seem to be with AK - I just get annoyed when I miss and feel compelled to try to take it down even when my opponent is clearly going to stick around.  Happens especially if I have been a bit card dead beforehand.

I do have good bluffs in my game too, although probably not as many as I should.  I know I miss spots.  But at 0.05/0.10 there are so many calling stations so I prefer to value bet hard and only bluff occassionally - I do have notes on regs who are easy to bluff though  In tournaments I really don't have a clue about good bluffing spots, still really learning that part of my game.

ladyalbion

Hope everyone had a great Christmas.  I've not been playing as much poker, mainly doing family stuff, but have got a few games in here and there.  Continuing to play the 5.50 DYMs more than anything else.  Overall still happy with my ROI, but I do need to keep up my concentration as I have lost a few DYMs due to 'unforced errors' so to speak.  I am still learning this format of course.

Anyway I wasn't involved in this hand, but I was one of two short stacks getting very close to the danger zone when this happened and me and the other shorty cashed as a result.  I read John Connor's blog on DYM strategy and one of the things he says is about folding AA rather than risking your stack in these spots - I can see why now!

Player	Action	Cards	Amount	Pot	Balance
ladyalbion	Small blind		150.00	150.00	1657.50
p1	Big blind		300.00	450.00	2647.50
	Your hole cards	Kc2s
p2	Raise		600.00	1050.00	6076.25
	Fold
ladyalbion	Fold
p1	All-in		2647.50	3697.50	0.00
p2	Call		2347.50	6045.00	3728.75
p1	Show	AhAd
p2	Show	7h7c
Flop
		6c7d7s
Turn
		Qh
River
		5h
p2	Win	Four 7s	6045.00		9773.75

ladyalbion

Happy new year everyone.  Time for a review of December.  Overall it was a fantastic month and I made a profit of £496.67 so it is by far my most profitable month playing poker.  It was a big help to get two decent tournament cashes for £300 altogether, but I've also been having great results at DYMs.  Finished the month with a 64% win rate and a 17% roi - if I can sustain that in the long term I'll be a very happy Lady A.  Some of my profits went on trying my luck at a few other tournaments, but I think I might focus just on DYMs for January, and then come back to MTTs when I have time to study the strategy more and work out what format suits me.

I have definitely been running good and I'm prepared for it to dip back down, but having a bankroll of almost £700 makes it a lot easier for me to ride the variance and not get too tilted by bad run outs as I often used to.  Today for example has been pretty rubbish, but almost all of it has been due to running bad rather than playing bad, and I am more confident at recognising that now.  Plus the DYM tables are full of regs taking advantage of the Team Sky Poker promo, so definitely a more challenging field.  It's actually really good fun to play against people who are a higher standard and I can learn a lot watching.  I've got down to the final 4 in almost every DYM I've played today so I can't be that bad anyway.

I was tempted to withdraw some of my profits and treat myself to something - I think it would be really cool to know I bought something from poker winnings - but as it's just after Christmas and my birthday is on Sunday, there isn't anything I actually want at the moment.  Maybe next month if I'm still doing well.

Good luck at the tables everyone.  Oh and I must just add that I've been reading Tikay's diary thread from his PLO8 DYM challenge (old posts, not got to recent ones yet!), it is very reassuring to hear about the normal fluctuations in this type of game.  In case you read this Tikay, you are such a great ambassador for the game, I really enjoy your forum posts and the live show.  And that goes for all the presenters and analysts.  I wouldn't be playing on Sky if it wasn't for the tv show and the community.

mrsduck

HNY lady A!
from lady D

ladyalbion

HNY Ducky!  Hope it's a good one for you.  Your diary is another one I've been avidly reading

ladyalbion

A bit of a mid month update.  January has been a really hard slog so far.  My job has been totally crazy since I went back after Christmas and I have been exhausted by the end of every work day.  I'm also having to spend most of my spare time studying, with assignment deadlines looming and finals in June.  After all that, finding time and mental energy for poker has been tricky.  I do find it a good way to wind down though, so I've been trying to play a few DYMs a night, even if only for an hour or so.

Early January was a serious downswing.  I'm not sure whether it was my play, my concentration, or just variance, but I had a big bankroll swing down to below £600 again.  In the last week I've just been trying to grind back up in what little time I have.  Thankfully I have had a few better days and my bankroll has now just peeked its head over the £700 mark.  £30 profit so far in January sounds rubbish, but right now it feels like an achievement.

I'm finding myself a bit unsure what level I should be playing.  In December I played almost all 5.50s and did really well.  In January I have been mixing 5.50s and 11s, and not done so well.  I've read various bankroll management strategies for SNGs (not DYMs specifically), and they all seem to differ wildly - eg from 20 buyins to 100 buyins.  50 feels about right for me, but I think I should probably try for more volume of the 11s because of the poker points.  It doesn't really seem like the standard is much different in 11s to 5.50s, especially not if I table select a tiny bit.  As of today, I'm at 57% wins at 5.50 and 58% wins at 11 so no difference really.  I want those percentages to be 60% by the end of the month though.

mrsduck

Hi Lady,

What's your job and what are you studying, if you don't mind me asking? *just read back and seen you're studying Maths!

Sounds like you're doing fine at the £11s, might just be a confidence thing, so go for it!

GL!

Ducky

ladyalbion

Hi Ducky  My job is a civil servant, I know everyone thinks that's the dullest job ever but I probably do one of the more interesting things which is advising politicians on their decisions.  And then they ignore me (sometimes)...

I'm studying for a maths degree at the OU, always wished I'd done maths the first time round so a few years ago I thought why not!  This is my fifth and last year.  I think being a maths geek is mainly why I like poker.

Thanks for the questions! GL also!

mrsduck

In Response to Re: Albion's Adventures in Pokerland:

Hi Ducky  My job is a civil servant, I know everyone thinks that's the dullest job ever but I probably do one of the more interesting things which is advising politicians on their decisions.  And then they ignore me (sometimes)... I'm studying for a maths degree at the OU, always wished I'd done maths the first time round so a few years ago I thought why not!  This is my fifth and last year.  I think being a maths geek is mainly why I like poker. Thanks for the questions! GL also!
Posted by ladyalbion

That sounds very interesting, you must be a smart cookie!
Good luck completing the maths degree, that would be an absolute nightmare for me!!
It sounds like we play poker on opposite sides of the spectrum ~ you using the maths side, whears I love the psychological side
D