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The way you write it, peeps would thnk I won it......
I have a theory when heads up, & my oppo is clearly better than me - be brutally aggro. They can't outplay me if I jam the lot in pre!
As a teacher and someone who enjoys all variations of poker, how hard do you think it is for the average person to pick up the other formats? I think I pick most things up quite quickly but forms of poker other than hold'em may as well be chinese to me. Would you offer any particular advice to players like me who have hold'em entrenched in their brains to the exclusion of all other formats?
You must get this one all the time (sorry) but do you not fancy yourself as a pro? I know what you said above about that 'ruthless' cutting edge that is required but do you not think you could shake that and/or any other obstacles? Would you rule out ever going pro? (Don't answer last bit if you don't wish to :-))
What games do you play on the other site? I'm particularly interested in the huge field MTTs, have you any other stories you would particularly like to share about any of those?
That will do for now, thanks for taking the time mate.
In general after I have a MTT bink I do like to have a little fun on the higher stake cash, that lasts for a couple of weeks before I get sensible and take some out for my savings/holiday/fun stuff.
I don't have a son or any children. I don't play any decent level live MTTs purely down to work, teaching is not a job where you can choose your holidays. Ok yes there are a few of them for sure, but I can't take a Thursday or Friday off to play the day 1s at most events. However one of my goals for the year was to get more live play, I'm going to try to find some holiday/weekend friendly events this year to see how I'd do in a live MTT that takes more time than a Monday evening at Harlow Dog Stadium (now that's a fun poker room, stories will follow some day).
Believe me if there was a bigger DYM player pool you wouldn't see me at your table, you're too darn good. I used to grind DYMs a lot for points and for building up my roll. I don't play as much now but I still get back on there from time to time, mainly when I'm suffering from Fancy Play Syndrome. Nothing better than a DYM to go back to pure math basics, which is by no means insulting the DYMs as they are anything but basic. It's a nice way to wash out all the rubbish that creeps into my game from time to time, plus I enjoy them when I'm in the mood. I just wish the £100+ ones would run more.
I used to have massive problems calling it a night. I had a little period way back to the Betfair days where I was grinding £5 SnGs and I refused to quit until I was at least £50 up on the day. I think it was the second time i woke up at the keyboard when I decided that was a bad idea. These days I'm a lot more chilled about it, I tend to know when I'm going a little haywire and can log off. The problems these day happen when I find a good cash game, I'm sat with a player or two who I think will pay me off handsomely in the right spot but that spot is just not turning up. Doesn't matter if I'm up or down but what does matter is I'm not getting AK on a A high flop for him to crash into with A6 or that set won't bink or the worst of all, they open fold the SB for the first time in 100 times when I'm sat in the BB with QQ+. That last one is tilt-tastic.
I'm competitive with myself. If I get done by a better player on the poker table or by a better team on the Sunday League Pitch, fair enough. If I've under performed I can get into a foul mood with myself. That's really where my competitive drive comes from and as a result I am quite competitive.
Question for you Ben. Do you find as one of the best known players on the DYM table that you get called in those crucial bubble spots wider than say a lesser known player?
Well I think I covered all of your questions there Ben, if I missed something give me a nudge. Great to have you lurking here
I play the odd HU SnG, not too bad at those. I'm decent at HU PLO cash against the right people (the right people do not have a Coxy or a Sim in their name). I rarely play NLHE HU Cash, it's probably my weakest area in poker. At least it was when I tried it out a couple of years ago on another site It's on the list to improve though, but judging by my previous results I'm going to wait until I can fund half a site trying to fix it.
But more importantly, how could lolufold go all-in pre (5 bet I think) playing nl500 against Peg1, three handed, with 3d6d. And how do you quantify him cracking Peg's AA with a flopped flush and even avoiding Peg's re-draw? Variance? Peg left with about £2.5K profit so I guess I've already answered my own question. Not sure what the meaning of life is though. Or even why I'm asking. Strange life.
Geordie Shore's pretty good though, eh?
Is a min-raise on the river ever, ever, ever a bluff?
You strike me as too good a guy to ignore any. I might well take advantage.
So, to the hands.
Hand 1
Im offended
Pretty standard.
i 5 bet jamd ajo in bb v ur btn about 3 hands before this.
u can start folding jacks pre v me heads up tho if you want i dont mind.
And do one ben u t wat u would fold a king and a king in this spot!
Hi Tommy,
Enjoying the Diary. Re. hands I'm guessing JJ held and in 2 the flush never came losing to set? Anyways, a couple of questions.. What set-up do you have computer-wise? and, are there times when you are free to play poker and just don't fancy playing cos you're not in the right frame of mind?
A fellow Spurs fan and very good friend of mine offered me a ticket for te game today for free at about 9am. As my GF was getting back from a hen do at lunchtime and it would mean I'd have to skip out on my Sunday League teams game, leaving them in the lurch, I declined.
Lucky escape.
To prevent any partisan posting, may I just congratulate Arsenal for their performance and result.
hand 2 = emmmmm won
And what a great game, from a very happy Arsenal fan
lolz never knew we had it in us to comeback like that
I am going to be very chirpy this week at work
btw Tommy Harlow dogs is my local card room, tell us some stories - go on -
Are the stories regading the cash tables by any chance
Are you local to Harlow ?
Ok the hands.
Hand one I was up against AK and did a hold.
Hand two Sam had Aces (surely illegal) and I bricked.
Might do that again after a long session if I have a few interesting ones.
Yesterday I did the normal MTT grind, lighter than most as I do have a limit on the tables I can play at a given time and I was hanging around for a while in most tournies. I only played 4 on another site, min cashing or just above min cashing in all of them. It was frustrating, small cash in the million after being card and spot dead for hours. The worst one was in the Red Spade open, approaching the bubble with well over double the average I obvious raise with my aces, big blind defends with T9 off and the flop is 678. GG deep run stack. I ended up being so winded by that I just limped my way into the cash.
On Sky I had my total donk off in the Roller shown on TV for my pleasure. Really bad stack off by me, I put it down to tiredness and too many tables, I was looking at a deep run in a few very well played tournaments and went into button clicking mode. Mistakes happen, got to fix that. Donked out of the mini but min cashed the Primo.
In life news my Sunday League team lost 5-2 in a friendly. It was arranged to keep our fitness up before our last two very important matches that can decide our promotion, so naturally we picked up three injuries. Marvelous. The team I support also lost 5-2 to the direct rivals. Yes Sunday just kept on getting better...
I sometimes try to Sat in, but these days I mostly just buy in direct. I used to have a few cracks at satting into the old Sunday Roller but would always buy in direct if I didn't manage it.
How I play a satelite really depends on how many seats are available. If it's one of the winner only ones then I look to get into a high equity all in spot early. I'll take a flip in hand one if offered. If I double then I go into a tighter mode to just pick up a few pots here and there, trying to get on the FT to give myself a shot at the seat.
If it's a super satelite with quite a few seats then it's tight, tight, tight all the way.
I think the biggest change on SkyPoker recently was H4H. it was a great improvement but I'd personally like it to come in with four or five to go, and apply to both tables from the start when down to two tables. No other sites I know of do this but its's just a personal preference.
As far as future changes go, antes will completely change the dynamic in tournaments which should be fun. I want to see resizeable/stretchy tables next but I'm a paitent guy
Personally I dislike timebanks in tournament play. Only once in many years on SkyPoker have I wanted there to be a timebank. That was a fun hand, UKOPS Highroller about 12 or so from the cash. Nigdawg with a stack raises UTG, Macapaca flats UTG+1, I'm next with Jacks and 3bet, folded around to Nigdawg who shoves (he covers), Maca folds and then it's on me. That was the only hand I can remember where I was straight 50/50 on my decisions. The ticker went all the way down to the end before I finally decided what to do.
Anyway I digress. Timebanks kill the play in tournaments, especially large field ones. Maybe there wouldn't be as much as a problem in 6max so we'll see.
However I can understand timebanks in cash games and would be all for it if it was applies to cash games only. Of course this cannot and will not happen. Imagine the continuation of the argument about Cash v Tournaments in reference to where SkyPoker concentrates most of it's attention if that happened? Just not worth the hassle so i imagine they will be introduced across the board in the future. Some things you like, some you don't, so I'm not about to throw my toys out of the pram about it.
But if I satellite in, invariably I never get going in the tournament itself. Buy in direct and I run better.
Coincidence or mindset ?
Me as a pro? In truth, maybe one day if I think I'm good enough. I've already met the criteria given by many pros on the top tips. I just don't think I'm good enough right now. Of course if I hit a major bink (Sunday million win etc) I would definitely consider it.
I play the major one. I had a brief dalliance with Full Tilt but I just didn't like it at the time, now rhyme or reason for this, just didn't like it. Of the Sunday majors I normally play the SWU, sometimes the million, and a lot of the 'Bigs' that site offers. I've had a lot of runs to the 30s-80s without getting to a FT in one of those.
Got plenty of stories from them but hard to bring many up when needed. A naughty one was when closing in on the bubble on the Sunday Warm Up. I was sitting about 100/1700ish which is a great spot to be in. I look down at two red Aces and see it's been bet and called a couple of times before it got to me. Lovely. I 3bet, then there is a dwell from the BB. He types in the chatbox 'weeeeeeeee' and bets 98% of his stack. So odd. I am the only one who voers him but it's all very strange. Folded to me, I jam, he calls. He has cold 4bet Nines. Nine in the door and I'm crippled, didn't even cash in the end. The worst part was when he typed 'wow' in the chatbox afterwards. I just didn't need to see a wow there.
We're here to look after the place until the boss gets back.
The women on Geordie Shore scare me.
Question m8: what preparations do you do before starting each session?(if any) and do you review hands on HM or PT3 (or hh on sky) after each session?
Thanks m8