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I've been mixing in HU Sngs throughout for one main reason; to ensure I earn at least 500 poker points each month, thereby qualifying for a C4P bonus. I only make small positive ROI in the HU games, it accounts for only a small part of the profit. But the £5+ per month earned in C4P has made a bigger difference, particularly in the early days when my bankroll was still very low. It's easy to run up quite a few points in not much time playing fast HU games, they accumulate more slowly when I enter MTTs only and it's a struggle to get to 500.
As for the DYMs. When I first joined Sky like many others I started off playing small stakes DYMs, attracted because I knew I could have a fun game for only a small risk. I thouroughly enjoyed them and for many months £1.15 DYMs were my game of choice. Then one day I somehow luckboxed my way to first place in a freeroll. The £41 prize seemed huge when I was used to fighting for 85p profit in the £1.15 games. That got me interested in MTTs, gradually I switched over and MTTs became my preference.
Since my DYM days my game has evolved, I now have a 'play to win style' and have no hesitation taking calculated risks that might give the opportunity of a first place finish. Obviously that style is incorrect in DYMs where a survive at all costs approach has more merit. When I go back to DYMs now I have trouble reining in my aggression. I tried a few near the start of this quest, I found I no longer enjoy them as much as I used to, and to be honest my results were pretty bad. These days I'm more at home in a game where I'm fighting to win all the chips.
It's a good read and nice to see evidence that you are enjoyig particular games. Poker is fun and sometimes people seem to lose that thought in a cloud of profit or loss, i find. Have you considered writing an article on playing BH's successfully along the lines of John Connors ABC for DYM's. Nice to see you felt you could move on to MTT's from playing DYM's once you lost interest. People seem to stick to situations/games for financial considerations more than contentment. I respect that.
Closing balance £714.97
(up 63p today)
My plan was to take a day off poker today. However the torrential rain falling when I returned home from work persuaded me to postpone a trip out and I late registered for the 10-45 Bounty Hunter instead.
After only 5 minutes of play I wished I hadn’t bothered; my pocket AA doubling-up a short opponent with Q9o. I had now become the shortie at the table, though I soon won most of my starting stack back when my AT connected nicely with a ten-high flop. Then at the second attempt I managed to bust the Q9 guy with my AT outdrawing his pocket 44, that made me happier and I forgave the RNG for the AA<Q9 beat.
In level 5 I picked up pocket AA for the second time, a short opponent on the button open-shoved into me on the big blind. This time it held-up against KJ. I collected my second head-prize and found myself up to slightly above average with more than half the field already eliminated. My third bounty came an orbit later with AK>33, my opponent happy to get his stack in the middle on an A25 flop. By now I was up to 3rd/30.
Alas that was to be my peak. On the bubble with all stacks getting very shallow I pushed from the small blind into the big blind. It was a perfect ‘any two cards will do' spot as he could only call with a premium. Unfortunately he held AA and my 36s didn’t improve, also my table image went down the toilet! Down to only 4BB I got it in 2 hands later when I picked up AA again myself. With no fold equity I knew I was guaranteed to be called. It was the big blind I went up against with his 43o, the board ran-out 5T662 to give him a straight and I was out. The RNG went straight back into my bad books.
So I picked up pocket AA three times in this tournament, each time playing an aipf pot. It held-up against KJ, but lost against Q9o and 43o. Those three hands sum up how I’m running at the moment quite nicely.
That was my only game of the day, by the time I busted the rain had ceased and I went out for the rest of the afternoon.
August poker points 242
6749361HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker17/08/2012 13:38NL Hold'em £3 + £0.312/74£0.63
Closing balance £713.99
(down 98p today)
I played a series of low-stakes MTTs this afternoon and evening. Once again I couldn’t find enough of that elusive late stages run-good to make a decent score.
In a small afternoon £3 rebuy I came second from nine with two spots paid, yet still managed to make a loss after accounting for rebuy and add-on expenses. It was essentially a sit-n-go with everybody playing for first place.
My best opportunity for a tournament victory came in a late afternoon £2.30 bounty Hunter. I held a commanding lead with only four players left. However, soon after my pocket AA doubled an opponent holding pocket QQ I lost aipf flips with AQ<99, then 88<A9. Those three hands meant I’d managed to sn@tch defeat from the jaws of victory and crash out in a disappointing third place.
The evening Mini Bounty Hunter was the most enjoyable game of the day, though after another promising start I eventually had to settle with a min-cash. After 90 minutes of play I was going well in seventh place. That turned out to be my peak; the tide turned when I lost a juicy pot with AQ<J3o. From there onwards I was below average and in danger. An A5>KQ aipf double gave me enough chips to get through the bubble comfortably. Soon after that my exit came when I open-shoved A8s from UTG at a 5-handed table, failing to improve against two callers with AK and AJ to finish 26/278. It was an unavoidable cooler with my short stack, I left fairly content with the result and pleased to finish in the money the second time in a row I’ve participated in a game that’s reported in my own ‘Tournament Results Thread’. As someone who rarely plays in the evening it’s not very often I get to post my own name.
August poker points 278
6755589HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker18/08/2012 20:28NL Hold'em £2 + £0.33/47£5.56755410HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker18/08/2012 19:51NL Hold'em £2 + £0.335/69-£2.36755015HNLT0.3GBPSkyPoker18/08/2012 16:55NL Hold'em £3 + £0.32/8£10.26754439HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker18/08/2012 16:49NL Hold'em £2 + £0.36/24-£2.36757100HNLT,HU0.1GBPSkyPoker18/08/2012 15:48NL Hold'em £2 + £0.11/2£1.96751888HNL0.0GBPSkyPoker18/08/2012 14:33NL Hold'em £0 + £019/194£0.56756224HNLSAT0.2GBPSkyPoker18/08/2012 13:37NL Hold'em £2.2 + £0.214/26-£2.46749361HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker17/08/2012 13:38NL Hold'em £3 + £0.312/74£0.63
Closing balance £706.34
(down £7.65 today)
It was standard Sunday stuff in the low stakes MTTs this morning; a big influx of players came onto the site who prefer wild gambling over thinking poker. The only way to deal with these guys is to keep it tight and play your strong hands hard. It didn’t work out for me today as I could neither pick up a premium nor connect with a flop.
In the 9-45 Bounty Hunter, when down to 12BB after an hour of play, I open-jammed JTs from the cut-off to exit against a caller in the SB with Q9o. In the 10-45 I went out very early after getting all my chips in the middle with a flopped nut-flush draw, I found two callers but didn’t improve.
That was me done for the day, I wasn’t enjoying the games and quit my session.
August poker points 285
6758328HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker19/08/2012 13:38NL Hold'em £3 + £0.369/78-£3.36758034HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker19/08/2012 13:13NL Hold'em £3 + £0.328/79-£3.36760398HNLT,HU0.05GBPSkyPoker19/08/2012 11:08NL Hold'em £1 + £0.052/2-£1.05
(up £18.81 today)
I’m off work this week, so I’ll be playing less poker than usual and popping up at unusual times.
After a day out today I decided to put in a rare appearance in the forum Monday DTD competition. If possible I’d support this great event every week, but unfortunately it’s played while I’m usually asleep.
I feel I put in a fairly good showing with finishes of 18/160, 3/201 and 40/118 in the individual tournaments. Overall I came 4th/75.
My first exit came in DTD3. Down to 10BB I found a good shove spot on the button with KQs after 2 players had limped-in. I knew I was in trouble when both blinds called (the limpers both folded), so it was a relief when they turned over their hole-cards; 66 and 9To. In my opinion calling off a shove and a call with 9To is an unwise decision, however the player concerned got lucky this time when he made trip 9s to scoop a big pot.
The second exit came in the DTD2 in which I jammed in my pocket 66 from the button but was unable to to dodge the 3 outs of a big stack with K6 on the BB. Arguably this was a bad-beat, but to be fair I was very short at the time and had no fold equity. If the places were reversed I too would have made the call with K6 had I been on the big blind.
My best chance of a very deep run came in DTD1. After winning a big JJ>AK flip on the bubble and busting a couple of short-stacks I found myself in the top 5 when the bubble went. A set back came when I faced an open-shove and a re-shove when I held AK on the big blind. The pot in the middle was worth the chiplead, with both the all-in players being relatively shallow-stacked I felt I had to make the call. My opponents flipped over A9 and 99. Obviously A9 was in big trouble, and with one of my 6 outs removed the 99 was favourite. The 99 held-up and I found myself back to average.
At this point the DTD scoring system affected my decision making for a while; with a respectable 18th place already in the bag it seemed wise to tighten-up and give myself a chance of winning the overall event. Soon after a big ‘what-if’ moment occurred; I held AQ on the big blind when a big stack who had me covered open-shoved, then an even bigger stack re-shoved. I feel AQ is always a fold there regardless; far too often one of them will show up with a dominating hand (AK, AA, KK or QQ). As it was I held overcards to their pairs and would have won a monster pot had I called, despite the result I still feel my fold was correct in the circumstances.
Not long after that hand it became clear it was mathematically impossible for me to win the DTD, so I loosened-up and played for the win. I made a run to the final table but ended up going out in third place in unfortunate circumstances. With AQ on the big-blind I reshoved over a button raise, the raiser chosing to call my shove with K9o. It was a questionable decision, but he spiked a 9 on the turn to eliminate me. A hold there would have given me 700K of the 1000K chips in play and a great chance of victory.
Despite the frustration of going out of all 3 games to inferior holdings I thoroughly enjoyed the DTD and will enter again whenever possible, it is a very friendly tournament played in great spirit. It was also pleasing to return a small profit on the day.
August poker points 290
6764260HNL0.1GBPSkyPoker21/08/2012 00:33NL Hold'em £1 + £0.13/201£20.016740968HNL0.2GBPSkyPoker21/08/2012 00:23NL Hold'em £2 + £0.240/118-£2.26763268HNL0.2GBPSkyPoker20/08/2012 23:44NL Hold'em £2 + £0.218/160£1If only. My exit hand from DTD1 with 3 players left from 201;
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalanceTsaaaar Small blind 8000.00 8000.00 223416.64 GaryQQQ Big blind 16000.00 24000.00 325373.93 Your hole cards A Q archdigger Raise 80000.00 104000.00 352209.43 Tsaaaar Fold GaryQQQ All-in 325373.93 429373.93 0.00 archdigger All-in 352209.43 781583.36 0.00 archdigger Unmatched bet 90835.50 690747.86 90835.50 GaryQQQ Show A Q archdigger Show 9 K Flop 2 3 J Turn 9 River 8 archdigger Win Pair of 9s 690747.86 781583.36
Closing balance £732.00
(up £6.85 today)
I made the final table of my first MTT today, a small lunchtime £2.30 Bounty Hunter, but my cards are still unwilling to hold-up in the crucial spots; my exit came with 55<A5 aipf on the bubble.
That hand set the tone for the first half of afternoon. The usual lack of MTTs severely restricted my options so I entered a few fast HU games. I soon went off the idea when it became clear I couldn’t win a flip to save my life. I even made a super-rare visit to a cash table, I finished a few pence up after a dozen or so orbits, but as is always the case I found this the most tedious of all ways to play poker.
Things started to look up for a while in the late afternoon when I won through a quarter final to The Open and enjoyed a great start in the 4-00pm £11 Bounty Hunter. Unfortunately neither bore fruit; I fell 3 spots short of the money (13th/88) in the Bounty Hunter, my exit coming in a blind vs blind A8<TT confrontation, and I failed to negotiate the Open semi.
In the evening I tried another three Bounty Hunter tournaments. In all of them I claimed a couple of bounties as consolation prizes, but really I’m playing to win these games, not scrape together a few heads, so overall I was disappointed in the results. I made the final table of a £5.75 game, but the two biggest flips of the day didn’t go my way. Firstly my flopped combo draw couldn’t improve to win a massive pot and two head-prizes on the final table bubble. Then I lost a 55<AK aipf race at the final table that would have brought me back in contention.
That result meant I ended the day slightly in profit, but nonetheless I was wasn't happy. I’m still finding it impossible to run well at the sharp end of these £5.75 games. If I’d run to expectation I feel I’d possibly have completed this quest by now. As it is it looks like I might go the distance without a single win.
Latest count in £5.75 Bounty Hunters since this quest began; played 135, final tables 28, wins 0.
August poker points 331
6768368HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker22/08/2012 00:19NL Hold'em £2 + £0.3142/343-£0.86768271HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker21/08/2012 22:17NL Hold'em £2 + £0.381/174-£1.556768432HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker21/08/2012 21:45NL Hold'em £5 + £0.756/92£16.926768633HNLSAT0.6GBPSkyPoker21/08/2012 19:29NL Hold'em £6.6 + £0.651/93-£7.26767729HNLB1.0GBPSkyPoker21/08/2012 18:54NL Hold'em £10 + £113/88£4.946765547HNL0.0GBPSkyPoker21/08/2012 18:16NL Hold'em £0 + £0290/303£06768673HNLSAT0.16GBPSkyPoker21/08/2012 17:13NL Hold'em £1.44 + £0.166/39£5.66767697HNLST0.2GBPSkyPoker21/08/2012 16:44NL Hold'em £2 + £0.229/34-£2.26769632HNLT,HU0.15GBPSkyPoker21/08/2012 15:56NL Hold'em £3 + £0.152/2-£3.156769629HNLT,HU0.1GBPSkyPoker21/08/2012 15:34NL Hold'em £2 + £0.12/2-£2.16766639HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker21/08/2012 14:28NL Hold'em £2 + £0.35/27-£0.86769322HNLT,HU0.1GBPSkyPoker21/08/2012 14:11NL Hold'em £2 + £0.11/2£1.96769286HNLT,HU0.25GBPSkyPoker21/08/2012 14:04NL Hold'em £5 + £0.252/2-£5.25
nice to see you moving forwards again.
keep it up m8,
dev
Closing balance £757.20
(up £25.20 today)
Yay………..highest balance so far!
I didn’t get online until the mid-afternoon when the now standard dearth of MTTs running at that time limited my options. I entered a £2.30 Bounty Hunter and a £2.20 Scary to begin. In both I ran like doggie-doo, unable to get anywhere as I suffered a series of outdraws and lost every flip.
The run-good arrived in the 5-05pm £2.30 Bounty Hunter. After three and a half hours play I was delighted to finish first from 65 entrants. This time several flips went my way, I also managed to inflict a suck-out rather than receive one; my AJs>AK aipf to win a crucial late-stages pot. Money wise this was only a fairly small bink. More importantly perhaps this victory as a much needed confidence boost, I’ve had a drought of first places finishes over the last month or two.
By the time the Bounty Hunter finished the Mini Double Stack was already underway. Contrary to its’ name the structure of this tournament is much faster than you’d expect. After a good start I spent most of the first two hours above average. However an unavoidable cooler busted me with the bubble looming. Holding AJ on the button I raised to isolate an UTG limper, planning to fold if he re-shoved. The limper flat-called my raise, he held 22, with effective stacks at only 20BB the A23 flop condemned me.
I’m away for a few days from tomorrow. I won’t be playing my next game of poker until Sunday afternoon at the earliest.
August poker points 342
6772127HNL0.3GBPSkyPoker23/08/2012 00:43NL Hold'em £3 + £0.376/348-£3.36772265HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker22/08/2012 20:26NL Hold'em £2 + £0.31/65£30.316774310HNLT0.1GBPSkyPoker22/08/2012 17:17NL Hold'em £1 + £0.15/6-£1.16772039HNLST0.2GBPSkyPoker22/08/2012 16:49NL Hold'em £2 + £0.218/34-£2.26774304HNLT,HU0.05GBPSkyPoker22/08/2012 16:31NL Hold'em £1 + £0.051/2£0.956771549HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker22/08/2012 16:10NL Hold'em £2 + £0.39/21-£1.366773715HNLT,HU0.1GBPSkyPoker22/08/2012 14:21NL Hold'em £2 + £0.11/2£1.9
have a good few days away,
dev
Didn’t play
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day 231 August 26th 2012
Closing balance £761.00
(up £3.80 today)
Returned to the tables this afternoon following a three day break, though only briefly as I didn’t have much time available to play poker. MTTs were out of the question, so I squeezed in a few fast micro-stakes HU STTs. Won 4/4 for a small profit.
August poker points 349
6793913HNLT,HU0.05GBPSkyPoker26/08/2012 18:01NL Hold'em £1 + £0.051/2£0.956793414HNLT,HU0.05GBPSkyPoker26/08/2012 15:40NL Hold'em £1 + £0.051/2£0.956793391HNLT,HU0.05GBPSkyPoker26/08/2012 15:29NL Hold'em £1 + £0.051/2£0.956793370HNLT,HU0.05GBPSkyPoker26/08/2012 15:25NL Hold'em £1 + £0.051/2£0.95
Know u said you had trouble transfering your results from sharkscope to this thread. Have u tried clicking on the 'old site' link, which is at the bottom of the left hand side, on the new sharkscope site?
GL
Closing balance £737.18
(down £23.82 today)
After a four day hiatus I returned to my favourite form of poker; MTTs. Unfortunately the deck wasn’t in the mood to give me a warm welcome back. My ‘hand of doom’, pocket KK, returned to haunt me again, becoming my exit hand my first two games, the 9-45 and 10-45 Bounty Hunters, losing to 66 and A9o respectively.
Things didn’t go any better in HU matches, I lost every all-in pot, including failing to dodge a one-outer when my A7 went all-in against 77 on an ace-high flop.
The gloom continued in my third MTT, a £5.75 Bounty Hunter, my exit coming when my made hand failed to fade a flush draw with one card to come and all the chips in the middle.
After two and a half hours of play I quit my session to minimise losses having barely won a hand. The final straw was the hand below; it came in a £5.25 HU match. Enough was enough, I knew it wasn't going to be my day and threw in the towel.
August poker points 371
6794402 27-Aug-12 14:30 NL Holdem £558/77-£5.756794785 27-Aug-12 13:54 NL Holdem £376/101-£3.306794484 27-Aug-12 12:25 NL Holdem £344/103-£2.176797085 27-Aug-12 12:12 NL Holdem £52/2-£5.256796954 27-Aug-12 11:34 NL Holdem £52/2-£5.256796914 27-Aug-12 11:27 NL Holdem £12/2-£1.056796893 27-Aug-12 11:01 NL Holdem £12/2-£1.05
The final straw. Another £5.25 bites the dust;
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalance Small blind 25.00 25.00 574.00 GaryQQQ Big blind 50.00 75.00 351.00 Your hole cards 7 6 Call 25.00 100.00 549.00 GaryQQQ Check Flop 9 10 8 GaryQQQ Check Bet 100.00 200.00 449.00 GaryQQQ All-in 351.00 551.00 0.00 Call 251.00 802.00 198.00 Show 8 A GaryQQQ Show 7 6 Turn 2 River 4 Win Flush to the Ace 802.00 1000.00
Closing balance £723.61
(down £13.57 today)
Today was an action replay of yesterday. I ran like Usain Bolt....................if he were blindfolded, had his shoes-laces tied together and was attached to a 2-ton ball and chain. Since returning from my four day break I seem to have been totally doomswitched.
There was actually a promising start in my first game, the 9-45 Bounty Hunter. I found myself second in chips after an hour of play. However any hopes that my luck had turned were soon dashed, I was busted by the chipleader with QQ<99 aipf for a monster pot. To rub salt in the wound it was also the cruellest of run-outs; he flopped a set, I turned a flush, he rivered quads!
Things didn’t improve. In the 10-45 Bounty Hunter I couldn’t win a single hand and my stack slowly dwindled away, my exit coming the first time I got my chips when short. Then in the 11-30 Bounty Hunter I busted in the very first hand; I flopped top set with pocket TT, unsurprisingly it was no good, I ended-up losing to a straight.
By now I could feel myself starting to tilt, but decided to have one last try in a £3.30 speed rebuy with a £50 guarantee. It attracted only 7 runners with 2 to be paid. I kept my cool and played well, but once again I was destined to go out to a sickening beat. This time it came on the bubble when I couldn’t dodge a 2-outer with 2 cards to come (HH blow). That was enough, I was no longer in the correct frame of mind to continue playing and quit for the day, a full five hours earlier than intended.
August poker points 393
6799423 28-Aug-12 14:03 NL Holdem £339/66-£3.306799008 28-Aug-12 13:49 NL Holdem £555/56-£5.756799086 28-Aug-12 13:03 NL Holdem £320/89-£0.776799087 28-Aug-12 12:51 NL Holdem £33/7-£3.306801036 28-Aug-12 11:51 NL Holdem £31/2£2.85
My final hand of the day, a typical example of my misfortune over the last 48 hours;
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalanceGaryQQQ Small blind 200.00 200.00 9500.00 Big blind 400.00 600.00 15230.00 Your hole cards A A persephers Raise 800.00 1400.00 10870.00 GaryQQQ Raise 1795.00 3195.00 7705.00 Call 1595.00 4790.00 13635.00 persephers Fold Flop J 3 5 GaryQQQ Bet 2795.00 7585.00 4910.00 Raise 5590.00 13175.00 8045.00 GaryQQQ All-in 4910.00 18085.00 0.00 Call 2115.00 20200.00 5930.00 GaryQQQ Show A A Show 6 6 Turn 6 River J Win Full House, 6s and Jacks 20200.00 26130.00
chin up m8 you are still well on your way to that magical £1,051 target of yours.
looks as though we could both do with a little boost atm.
keep doing the right things and i'm sure your next big win will not be too far away.
best wishes m8.
dev
This poker is a funny 'ole game; the luck seems to be change like tides; it all goes one way for a long time, then suddenly turns and starts to go the other way. It would appear the tide has been going out for both of us over the last few days. all we can do is be patient and keep our cool, it'll be coming in again soon and that's when we'll reap the rewards. Best of luck to you too.
ty
all the best things are worth wating for.....
isn't that what they say.
it's all about patience & discipline as you already know,like you say the tide will turn our way again.
best wishes m8.
Closing balance £747.39
(up £23.78 today)
Carried straight on from where I left off yesterday; the very first pot I entered in the 9-45 BH cost me half my stack when my pocket JJ was outdrawn by a player holding the mighty 53s. My OOP opponent called my 4x raise over his limp. Despite completely missing the flop completely he decided to call my continuation bets anyway. I can only assume he’s psychic; somehow he managed to make a running flush by the river. I fought my way back to average, but lost a big AQ<33 flip, soon after going out with KQs<AJo aipf.
Things started better in the 10-45; when down to only 25 of the 78 entrants left I was in third place and in a good position to launch a deep run. However a series of three all-in pre-flop pots in a 2 orbit spell (two pair v overcard flips and a 60/40 against a 10BB limp/caller with 98o) all went against me, each time with a bounty up for grabs. I then went out in 17th place when my shove was called by a gambler who got there against my overcards with his T4o. I tried a £2.30 game next and made a fairly early exit with my AJ no good vs A7 on an ace-high flop.
After a break for lunch I had another storming start in the 2-30pm £5.75 Bounty Hunter; up to 3x starting stack within 3 levels (though without any bounties). Then the next horror beat arrived to cost me a head prize and a significant chiplead. I picked up pocket AA on the SB when a player with 19BB open-shoved from UTG. I flatted and successfully induced the BB into entering the pot too. The BB folded to my flop bet, but I was drawing almost dead to the UTG shover; he’d flopped a miracle nut-flush with his A3s and scooped the 58BB pot.
For a while I spiralled downwards, assuming I was destined to draw another blank. However, just for little while, and for the first time in a week, the deck was kind to me. I didn’t win any pots from behind, but coolered an opponent with K7 v A9 on a 77A flop and managed a couple of crucial holds with QQ>A2 aipf and A7>76 aipf to climb back towards the top of the field and safely negotiate the bubble, taking two head prizes on the way.
To cut a long story short I was clear chipleader at the final table with only four players left, but a player leading a very charmed life was destined to bust me in fourth. Firstly he was on the big blind when I 3-bet shoved AKs from the button, he called off his stack with KJ and binked a J on the turn to double-up. A hold there would have given me over 50% of the chips in play with 3 players left. 2 orbits later I open-jammed from the button with pocket 99 and 15BB behind, the same player woke up with KK, no miracle card for me and I was out. Earlier this guy had folded down to less than 2BB with 5 players left.
While it was nice to record my first MTT cash for a week and record a winning day, overall I’m very disappointed. I feel I was the best player at that £5.75 final table, yet was deprived of a likely victory by the cruel AKs<KJo aipf suck-out. It doesn’t seem to matter what I do in these £5.75s, I’m unable to win under any circumstances. The latest count during this quest is played 125, final tables 29, wins 0. With the wins being worth about £100 a time this quest would have been completeted before now if I'd run to expectation and taken down 5 of those 29 final tables.
Did I run better today? Absolutely not; I didn’t win a single MTT pot today when getting my chips in as an underdog. I lost several from well ahead including AA<A3s aipf and the horrible AKs<KJ aipf hand at the final table.
August poker points 416
6805316 29-Aug-12 17:35 NL Holdem £54/85£20.196803966 29-Aug-12 15:41 NL Holdem £232/39-£2.306803965 29-Aug-12 13:33 NL Holdem £317/78£0.646806776 29-Aug-12 13:22 NL Holdem £51/2£4.756806607 29-Aug-12 12:51 NL Holdem £11/2£0.956803634 29-Aug-12 12:47 NL Holdem £341/99-£3.306806680 29-Aug-12 12:37 NL Holdem £31/2£2.85
Closing balance £745.75
(down £1.64 today)
My first MTT of the day, the 10-45 BH, brought a pleasing run to the final table. It included a suckout (extremely rare for me lately) with my AJ busting a short-stack who open-shoved pocket KK in the mid-stages. Unfortunately I was unable to take it down; my exit came in third place when I shoved pocket 33 from the button and lost out to a caller with K8s. With all stacks very shallow after 3 hours of play, mine the shortest of the three, it was a spot where the chips just had to go in. Note to self; must learn to flip better at final tables.
It went badly downhill after that; nearly the entire afternoon was very tilting. I entered the 2-30 £5.75 Bounty Hunter, but spent my time in the game completely card-dead. Particularly frustrating was a series of HU matches I entered with the intention of boosting my poker points; I ran just about as badly as is possible losing just about every aipf pot due to a series of comedy run-outs and miracle river cards in my opponents favour. I even managed to lose 6 out of 8 roulette games (see final paragraph).
In a 30 minute timed tournament I was eliminated after 29 minutes of play by an opponent who made an awful call only to hit his gutshot to crack my two pairs on the river, the pot was worth £17.40. It reminded me just how much I hate these timed games, you won’t see me in one again for a very long time, I stand almost no chance in any sort of run-good competition at the moment.
My final game saved the afternoon from being a complete disaster when I made a run to the final table of the 3-30 £5.75 Bounty Hunter. I was in good shape through most of the game, but a couple of harsh beats in crucial spots made big dents to my stack and cost me bounties. The most annoying came on the final table bubble when my QJs lost to K4 after all the chips went in on a Q42 rainbow flop. The 4 on the turn cost me the biggest head-prize in the field at that time, a juicy pot, a 50% boost to my stack and a great chance of victory. I then fell quite short during 6-handed play, but was gifted a double-up by a slow-playing limper with JJ who doubled me up. I held 72o on the big-blind, the flop came down 72T. Unfortunately that was the last pot I won, down to 9BB during 4-handed play I jammed A8 into A9, I flopped an 8 only to lose to a running straight.
That’s now 30 £5.75 Bounty Hunter final table appearances during this quest without a single win, quite incredible. Once again I didn’t win a single pot in the entire tournament after getting my chips in as an underdog, though I lost 2 after getting my chips in post-flop with a dominating hand. Will it ever turn the other way? If does maybe I’ll get one of those very overdue first places.
To make ensure I reach the 500 poker point threshold to qualify for a C4P payment I mixed in a few roulette HU games today. Normally I wouldn’t dream of playing RR, but this was one of those rare occasions when it becomes a +ev decision. Each £2.00 game earns 3 poker points for 20p rake, i.e. 6.67p per point. My 8 games cost me £1.60 in rake for 24 points, thereby ensuring a £5.00 C4P payment. Unfortunately, while this was a mathematically correct decision, it didn’t work out too well; I lost 6 of the 8 games. No surprise there then.
Late in the afternoon I had a very welcome surprise; I was informed I've been awarded a seat in the new 'Top of the Posts' competition. I'm honoured to be chosen and very much looking forward to the game. It's being played a couple of hours after my usual bedtime, my body-clock won't be amused but I'll do my best!
August poker points 477
6810696 30-Aug-12 18:27 NL Holdem £54/69£13.846810496 30-Aug-12 17:05 NL Holdem £522/70-£5.756812718 30-Aug-12 16:00 NL Holdem £22/2-£2.206812659 30-Aug-12 15:46 NL Holdem £22/2-£2.206812655 30-Aug-12 15:45 NL Holdem £21/2£1.806812646 30-Aug-12 15:44 NL Holdem £22/2-£2.206812643 30-Aug-12 15:43 NL Holdem £22/2-£2.206808830 30-Aug-12 15:36 NL Holdem £322/66-£3.306812507 30-Aug-12 15:10 NL Holdem £52/2-£5.256812486 30-Aug-12 15:00 NL Holdem £12/2-£1.056812468 30-Aug-12 14:59 NL Holdem £21/2£1.806812480 30-Aug-12 14:58 NL Holdem £11/2£0.956812383 30-Aug-12 14:54 NL Holdem £22/2-£2.206812285 30-Aug-12 14:49 NL Holdem £22/2-£2.106812205 30-Aug-12 14:39 NL Holdem £32/2-£3.156812360 30-Aug-12 14:31 NL Holdem £22/2-£2.206812271 30-Aug-12 14:29 NL Holdem £12/2-£1.056812303 30-Aug-12 14:28 NL Holdem £12/2-£1.056812254 30-Aug-12 14:17 NL Holdem £12/2-£1.056812220 30-Aug-12 14:08 NL Holdem £11/2£0.956812193 30-Aug-12 14:05 NL Holdem £12/2-£1.056809067 30-Aug-12 13:50 NL Holdem £33/68£17.126810813 30-Aug-12 02:34 NL Holdem £11/2£0.956810710 30-Aug-12 02:27 NL Holdem £12/2-£1.05
Heads-up fun. This was a £5.25 game, the winner of the hand gets £10.00. I could post several like this taken from this afternoon;
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalanceGaryQQQ Small blind 10.00 10.00 490.00 Big blind 20.00 30.00 480.00 Your hole cards Q Q GaryQQQ Raise 30.00 60.00 460.00 Call 20.00 80.00 460.00 Flop 7 10 9 Check GaryQQQ Bet 55.00 135.00 405.00 Call 55.00 190.00 405.00 Turn 5 Bet 20.00 210.00 385.00 GaryQQQ Raise 135.00 345.00 270.00 All-in 385.00 730.00 0.00 GaryQQQ All-in 270.00 1000.00 0.00 GaryQQQ Show Q Q Show 4 5 River 4 Win Two Pairs, 5s and 4s 1000.00 1000.00
Closing balance £774.55
(up £28.80 today)
Déjà vu struck I lost my first 2 HU matches of the day with 77<A7 aipf and JJ<K7 aipf.
In my first MTT I went out holding 9x with 5678r on the board, my opponent held 9T. It was a £3 speed rebuy, by then I already had the feeling it wasn’t going to be my game so didn’t bother to buy back in.
Things looked much more promising in my second MTT, a £2 rebuy. I found myself chipleader on the bubble (3 left, 2 paid) courtesy of a couple of flopped sets that got paid in full. However sod’s law kicked in again. I took on the shortest stack with my AJs vs his KT aipf, he won and I slipped down to third of three. My stack dwindled further, when down to 12BB I went into ‘double or bust asap’ mode and managed to shove my A8 from the button into A9 on the SB.
But hold on……………shock/horror………. I sucked out! One finally went my way! I binked an 8 on the flop to double-up. I feel no guilt whatsoever, I’m owed many of these. Furthermore it was against the KT>AJs guy. Soon after that I won another big pot with TT>AQ to double again and take a commanding lead (27K v 5K v 4K). The chips went in on the turn, my opponent calling off with a queen-high flush draw and overcards to a low board. Phew; I dodged his outs.
I pushed on from there to take the win, my prize being £37.50 with £4.40 invested, enough to bring me a new highest balance. While this is only small bink it was very welcome after a hellish run of luck over the last few days. Hopefully I’ve turned a corner, though I’m still left wondering why haven’t I been able to do this in any of my 30x £5.75 Bounty Hunter final tables.
I didn’t want to play any more poker, but bought into a £1 hyper HU match and 4x £2.20 roulette games (won 2, lost 2) to earn me the last 13 poker points required to reach the all-important 500 point threshold and lock-up a £5.00 C4P bonus.
August poker points 500 (£5.00)
6817666 31-Aug-12 15:37 NL Holdem £22/2-£2.206817658 31-Aug-12 15:35 NL Holdem £21/2£1.806817647 31-Aug-12 15:34 NL Holdem £21/2£1.806817588 31-Aug-12 15:32 NL Holdem £11/2£0.956817604 31-Aug-12 15:30 NL Holdem £22/2-£2.206815660 31-Aug-12 14:15 NL Holdem £21/9£35.306813803 31-Aug-12 13:20 NL Holdem £39/14-£3.306815879 31-Aug-12 02:27 NL Holdem £11/2£0.956815868 31-Aug-12 02:19 NL Holdem £12/2-£1.056815835 31-Aug-12 02:16 NL Holdem £12/2-£1.05
My turn to suck-out, the beautiful 8 that led to a victory;
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalancepaulsmoney Small blind 300.00 300.00 17120.00 MRPAULZ1 Big blind 600.00 900.00 11700.00 Your hole cards A 8 GaryQQQ All-in 7280.00 8180.00 0.00 paulsmoney Call 6980.00 15160.00 10140.00 MRPAULZ1 Fold paulsmoney Show 9 A GaryQQQ Show A 8 Flop 8 K 2 Turn J River 10 GaryQQQ Win Pair of 8s 15160.00 15160.00