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While 17th/255 was a pleasing run I'd hoped to go a little further, as always all the decent money is at the final table. Still, it was my first BH cash for a week so a welcome confidence booster if nothing else.
My man got 5th for $52K. It could have been better I suppose, but it also could have been worse. Obviously I was rooting for a win which would have paid four times as much as fifth. However I will get back 10x my investment, a very pleasing bink without even having to play a single hand myself.
Closing Balance £435.38
Down £0.10 today
Didn’t play much today. While mainly concentrating on paperwork jobs at lunchtime I fired up a £2.30 BH and a £3.30 DYM. In the BH I donked myself out by gambling at a wild table early with pocket 77 at a bad time, I couldn’t improve against QQ. In the DYM I ran QQ into AA and didn’t find a fold on a dry low flop.
Back at the tables in the afternoon I tried a £5.75 BH. Devoid of playable hands most of the way I somehow nursed a short-stack all the way to the late stages. With the bubble looming I coolered a guy when I flatted his button min-raise with pocket AA on the BB and only 12BB behind. Obviously I wasn’t folding post-flop no matter what. However he held KJ, so the AKJ flop was perfect for me.
Soon after I re-shoved over a 3BB all-in shortie with A9 and binked an A to crack his pocket TT. I then chipped up further and made the money by playing aggressive shallow-stack poker, picking up chips courtesy of uncalled 3-bet shoves and flop check/shoves. At this stage it’s very important to maintain fold equity. I never let my stack blind down to the point where I have only 3BB like the guy with pocket TT. Personally I prefer to start shoving wide at around the 10-12BB mark. I’d much rather flip for 20BB+ than fold down to 3BB and hope to win an 80/20 that will only get me up to 6BB if I hold anyway.
With 8 left I busted, just one flip away from getting my stack above average for the first time in the entire tournament. I 3-bet shoved pocket 33 from the BB and got a call from the opener with A9 on the button. Just like yesterday I was taken out by an ace on the river. I was playing for the win and happy to take the flip with my tournament life at risk. Once again it just wasn’t my turn to win the all-important late stages race.
I tried a quick heads-up match before logging off. In the very first hand my opponent bluff check-shoved all-in with 6-high and a gutshot on the turn. I had an easy call with top two pairs, he hit his four-outer with one card to come then snap declined a re-match. I took the RNG’s hint and quit for the day.
June Poker Points 271 (£2.71)
Today’s results;
8085668HNLST,HU0.1GBPSkyPoker24/06/2013 16:52NL Hold'em £2 + £0.12/2-£2.18084184HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker24/06/2013 14:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.758/63£7.68085109HNL6MX,DN0.3GBPSkyPoker24/06/2013 13:07NL Hold'em £3 + £0.36/6-£3.38083035HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker24/06/2013 12:15NL Hold'em £2 + £0.312/14-£2.3
Closing Balance £426.33
Down £9.05 today
Didn’t play much again today, only managed to find time for 2 MTTs.
In the morning I couldn’t get anything going in a £3.30 Bounty Hunter.
I ran deeper in an afternoon £5.75, albeit nursing a short stack most of the time. I busted in my first standard flip again when I shoved 55 over a limp/caller and lost the race against KQo.
I’ve been running pretty terribly in flips since I won two MTTs on Day 164. I don’t keep count obviously, but I’d be surprised if I’ve won any more than 25% since then. It'll even out over time as it always does, so there's nothing to worry about. I'll simply to continue to play my best and wait for fortune to turn my way again.
June Poker Points 282 (£2.82)
Today’s results;
8086913HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker25/06/2013 13:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.7516/67-£5.758086699HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker25/06/2013 10:45NL Hold'em £3 + £0.319/58-£3.3
Latest graph of progress;
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/43/fx3j.jpg/
Closing Balance £424.00
Down £2.33 today
Things still aren’t going my way in the MTTs.
I bricked the two morning £3.30s. A standard lost pair<overcards flip took me out of the 9-45, though to be fair I’d won an earlier flip, the losing one being my second. In the 10-45 my chances were wrecked early on by a maniac who caught a 3-outer with one card to come for nearly all my chips.
At lunch I tried a £5.75. For the third day in a row I went deepish but yet again couldn’t win those all-important shallow stack all-ins losing both involving me. My demise started with a 33<A3 button v BB aipf loss for a decent stack and a juicy head prize. The same player busted me a few orbits later with KTo />A2o aipf. I held the ace of hearts, the flop was great for me; three hearts, including 2h and without a jack or king. My opponent needed to hit one of his four outs with two cards to come and also swerve all hearts, aces and twos to win the pot. He hit on the river lol, good game. At least I had a couple of bounties to show for my efforts this time.
Some run-good finally arrived in a HU STT. My opponent (who sat down before me) didn’t show up to play. I stalled for a few minutes out of courtesy then stole the blinds and took the walkover.
I wanted to play more, but with some overdue home maintenance jobs calling my name that was me done for the day.
June Poker Points 299 (£2.99)
Today’s results;
8091770HNLHU0.25GBPSkyPoker26/06/2013 13:32NL Hold'em £5 + £0.251/2£4.758089584HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker26/06/2013 11:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.7513/59-£0.488089911HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker26/06/2013 10:45NL Hold'em £3 + £0.353/61-£3.38089652HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker26/06/2013 09:45NL Hold'em £3 + £0.328/71-£3.3
Closing Balance £461.10
Up £37.10 today
Yay, a long-overdue winning day!
Today I entered three £5.75 Bounty Hunters and a couple of £2.10 HU STTs. In the first £5.75 I got nothing going and busted early. In the second, a speed tournament, I went deep but ran badly in flips again when it mattered losing AQ<33 aipf on the final table bubble then 66<KQ aipf on the final table to bust in fifth place with three spots paid
At long last a got a decent result in the third game with a second place finish, though ultimately with mixed feelings as I came so close to going one place better.
It started awfully and I found myself down to only 870 chips during level two. A stroke of luck got me back in the game; I 3-bet shoved AK aipf over a raise and made a full-house to quadruple-up off three callers. From there I ran deep by keeping it tight and aggressive. I had a particularly tough table with three tables left facing some skilled aggressive opponents, but I kept my head above water and had a more favourable draw and an above average stack when we broke to two tables.
The final table was a roller-coaster ride for me. With five left I three-bet shoved AKs over a 3x open and the villain tank-called with pocket 66. The pot would have given me a significant chip lead with four left and a juicy head-prize. An ace landed on the flop, a six landed on the river (don’t you just hate rivers sometimes!). I was left quite short but I kept my composure and fought my way back into contention.
A cooler for an unfortunate opponent during four-handed play propelled me into the chiplead. When I was on the BB with 7c4c it folded to the SB who completed with pocket 22. The flop was 6h2c5c, bottom set for my opponent and every draw in the book for me. Stacks went in after I’d made my straight on the turn and my hand held-up. I took the unfortunate villain out in the very next hand with pocket AA.
Three handed play lasted quite a while. JockBMW was next to fall in unlucky fashion. I pushed on his BB with 9hTh on the SB, a standard play when he had only 10BB left. Peter had the easiest of calls with AK, however he was all-but dead on the harshest of flops; 99T.
Heads-up play was a disaster for me. I started with a commanding lead over an inexperienced opponent but the deck wasn’t in the mood to let me close it out. The winner doubled off me when down to only 10BB with his limped 84o outdrew my K8 on an A82 flop. The turn and river were both fours. The killer hand was my A6 losing to QT with 78JA on the board and nearly all the chips in the middle. Had I swerved his four outs on the river for the gutshot victory was almost certainly mine. However it wasn’t to be and I was left with 6BB and no way back.
Ironically I won both of the far less important HU matches; the two STTs.
After a very poor run over the last ten days I’m pleased to record a reasonably profitable day despite the heads-up frustration in the Bounty Hunter. Obviously I would have snap-taken second place money at the start of the tournament, and when down to 840 chips early on even a min-cash looked extremely unlikely, so I can’t complain at the result. I'll be taking a day off poker tomorrow and will return to the tables on Saturday afternoon.
June Poker Points 325 (£3.25)
Today’s results;
8093164HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker27/06/2013 13:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.752/57£42.928094749HNLST,HU0.1GBPSkyPoker27/06/2013 13:28NL Hold'em £2 + £0.11/2£1.98094710HNLST,HU0.1GBPSkyPoker27/06/2013 13:18NL Hold'em £2 + £0.11/2£1.98092870HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker27/06/2013 12:15NL Hold'em £5 + £0.755/20-£3.878092703HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker27/06/2013 11:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.7530/51-£5.75
A dream run-out for me, a nightmare for my opponent. Four-handed play at the Bounty Hunter final table.
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalanceB Small blind 500.00 500.00 24072.00 GaryQQQ Big blind 1000.00 1500.00 18863.00 Your hole cards 7 4 JockBMW Fold Joey120 Fold B Call 500.00 2000.00 23572.00 GaryQQQ Check Flop 6 2 5 B Bet 1000.00 3000.00 22572.00 GaryQQQ Call 1000.00 4000.00 17863.00 Turn 8 B Bet 3000.00 7000.00 19572.00 GaryQQQ Call 3000.00 10000.00 14863.00 River Q B All-in 19572.00 29572.00 0.00 GaryQQQ All-in 14863.00 44435.00 0.00 B Unmatched bet 4709.00 39726.00 4709.00 B Show 2 2 GaryQQQ Show 7 4 GaryQQQ Win Straight to the 8 39726.00 39726.00
Didn’t play
Day 178
Closing Balance £448.06
Down £13.04 today
Nothing much to report today. I entered several micro-stakes MTTs but failed to cash. Most of the time was spent picking up junk and failing to make hands, whenever I did get to a showdown I nearly always had the second best hand.
Only one MTT hand was memorable; I busted two short stacks in the Mini in a 3-way aipf pot when holding AK. Though hope of a deep run evaporated in level 9 when I ran KK into AA, button v SB to be left on fumes. The same guy busted me in level 10 when I shoved my KQ into his KK, button v SB once again, mbn!
The only small successes came from a few STTs. In a (rare for me) DYM I had a brief taste of ‘god mode’. After cracking pocket AA with JTo aipf I followed it up by making quads threes on the run-out after shoving A3 into a short stack’s AQ on the bubble!
June Poker Points 355 (£3.55)
Today’s results;
8100890HNLB0.5GBPSkyPoker29/06/2013 20:15NL Hold'em £5 + £0.5103/513-£1.748101380HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker29/06/2013 20:05NL Hold'em £2 + £0.3150/247-£2.38103045HNL6MX,DN0.25GBPSkyPoker29/06/2013 19:28NL Hold'em £2 + £0.251/6£1.758101238HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker29/06/2013 18:00NL Hold'em £2 + £0.371/146-£2.38102684HNLST,HU0.05GBPSkyPoker29/06/2013 17:52NL Hold'em £1 + £0.052/2-£1.058102588HNLST,HU0.1GBPSkyPoker29/06/2013 17:02NL Hold'em £2 + £0.11/2£1.98100912HNL 0.2GBPSkyPoker29/06/2013 16:20NL Hold'em £2 + £0.215/21-£2.28100563HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker29/06/2013 15:15NL Hold'em £2 + £0.313/26-£2.38102026HNLT,HU0.05GBPSkyPoker29/06/2013 14:04NL Hold'em £1 + £0.051/2£0.958099928HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker29/06/2013 13:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.7566/80-£5.75
Closing Balance £442.09
Down £5.97 today
I played in three micro MTTs today and bricked them all.
I’m happy I’m playing well, there’s just not much of that all-important run-good coming my way right now. Without it you simply can’t win MTTs.
Coolers did for me in the two morning £3.30 Bounty Hunters; my flopped set running into a flopped straight to bust in the 9-45. Then I couldn’t find a way back after my flopped top two pair met another flopped straight in the 10-45 which I bubbled. In both cases I missed my outs to a full house.
In a lunchtime freezeout I was going well briefly, but failed to fade draws in some crucial pots then when getting short ran AKs into KK, again no help.
June Poker Points 361 (£3.61)
Today’s results;
8104744HNL 0.3GBPSkyPoker30/06/2013 13:00NL Hold'em £3 + £0.310/31-£3.38103472HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker30/06/2013 10:45NL Hold'em £3 + £0.314/92£0.638103265HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker30/06/2013 09:45NL Hold'em £3 + £0.382/91-£3.3
Not my day. A hand from the lunchtime freezeout. I outplay my opponent but fail to make the hold after stacks go in.
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalanceGaryQQQ Small blind 25.00 25.00 3730.00 spurs_13 Big blind 50.00 75.00 1607.50 Your hole cards A J codman30 Fold MR_D123 Fold A Raise 100.00 175.00 1786.25 GaryQQQ Raise 250.00 425.00 3480.00 spurs_13 Fold A Call 175.00 600.00 1611.25 Flop K 9 J GaryQQQ Check A Bet 300.00 900.00 1311.25 GaryQQQ Raise 795.00 1695.00 2685.00 A All-in 1311.25 3006.25 0.00 GaryQQQ Call 816.25 3822.50 1868.75 GaryQQQ Show A J A Show 6 10 Turn 2 River 7 A Win Flush to the Jack 3822.50 3822.50
Closing Balance £432.87
Down £9.22 today
It was a familiar story in my first game, a £5.75 BH. After being left with only 800 chips in level 3 due to a rivered flush under rivered flush cooler I fought hard to get myself back into contention only to then bust just 3 places from the money unable to win an aipf pot in a great spot; my pocket 77 flipping against AQ with a 1.5BB short stack holding also all-in holding KQ. I was 59/41 favourite for the side pot with one of the queens removed from the deck, but I watched my opponent find both of the other queens and an ace to make a full house to KO me and the shortie.
In my second game, a £3.30 Freezeout, I busted with AA<T7 in level 1, on reflection I feel I probably should have been able to lay it down.
I then tried a HU STT. Holding a 940-60 chip lead during level 1 I had my opponent all-in with his 64o and still behind with just one card to come. He got there and you can guess the rest. Feeling somewhat demoralised that was me done with poker for the day.
June Poker Points 10
Results
8108646HNLST,HU0.15GBPSkyPoker01/07/2013 14:25NL Hold'em £3 + £0.152/2-£3.158107937HNLR0.2GBPSkyPoker01/07/2013 14:00NL Hold'em £2R + £0.215/15-£3.538106620HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker01/07/2013 11:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.7514/73-£3.87
Another winning month saw my balance grow from £361.61 to £442.09. That’s an increase of £80.48 or 22.25%. Once gain volume was low, I only played on 19 of the 30 days earning a mere 361 Poker Points.
Overall I feel I didn’t run too well on most of those 19 days. However that was more than compensated for by a £5.75 Bounty Hunter win on the 15th and a second place in another on the 27th.
On reflection I’m very pleased with my June results and I’ll be happy if I can increase my bankroll by another 22% in July. However I’m yet to report a losing month, which I’m well aware could come along at any time. If it happens to be July then so be it. If it’s a result of bad runnage rather than bad play I won’t lose any sleep over it.
My goals for July are to put in a higher volume than in June and to continue to play to the best of my ability.
Monthly results so far;
January...... £0.00.......to....... £11.52
February.... £11.52.....to.......£52.21.......+353% growth
March........£52.21......to.......£87.88.......+68% growth
April.......... £87.88......to......£256.59......+192% growth
May......... £256.59......to......£361.61.....+41% growth
June.........£361.61.......to......£442.09.....+22% growth
Closing Balance £421.03
Down £11.84 today
Another losing day. For the time being the cards are still falling my way a bit less often than usual.
In my first tourney, a Speed £5.75 BH, I was coolered with 77<QQ aipf when I cold 4-bet jammed my pair in an attempt to isolate a shortie’s 3-bet shove. It was a high variance play, but with a fast structure you have to be prepared to get your chips in the middle much sooner than you would in a standard game.
Next I took a rare venture into a 15 minute timed tournament. I crashed out quickly after losing both the hands I played. After losing a pair<overcards aipf flip with folded overlay and blinds in the pot I was coolered when I shoved AT into QQ with effective stacks under 10BB. It was a sharp reminder of how brutal these 15 minute games are. There’s very little skill involved, whoever does best in the all-ins wins the money. I’m not very good at all-ins at the moment, though even regardless of that I won’t be entering any more of these for the foreseeable future, I consider them too much of a gamble to make the rake beatable.
In the 10-45 £3.30 BH I ran quite deep, but when all stacks were growing shallow with the bubble looming (average 15BB) I lost most of my stack when I 3-bet shoved Q8s from the SB over a frequent button opener who I had covered. It was bad timing; he held pocket QQ. After that I couldn’t find a way back and busted when all-in and called as the underdog in a 40/60.
By far the best news for me today poker-wise was getting my return on my 2013 WSOP investment. My money came back having earned a very pleasing 374% ROI.
With DIY jobs calling that was me done for the day.
July Poker Points 29
Today’s results;
8109853HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker02/07/2013 10:45NL Hold'em £3 + £0.318/81-£1.048111427HNLST,HU0.05GBPSkyPoker02/07/2013 10:44NL Hold'em £0.5 + £0.051/2£0.458108834HNLTI0.5GBPSkyPoker02/07/2013 10:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.512/19-£5.58109699HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker02/07/2013 10:15NL Hold'em £5 + £0.7538/47-£5.75
Closing Balance £412.16
Down £8.87 today
My downswing continues. I remain happy with the standard of my play, it’s just that it's hard to get decent results when you keep finding yourself the wrong side of coolers and running badly in all-in situations.
In my first game, the 9-45 BH, I flopped a flush in level 3. Usually that’s good news, not today, an opponent had flopped a flush one spot higher than mine. Soon after I open-shoved my last few BB with suited connectors from the button when the BB was holding pocket AA.
In the 10-45 BH I busted in level 5 when I got my dwindling stack in with pocket 77. Until that point I hadn’t won a pot of note or picked up a single ace or pocket pair in 45 minutes of play. I ran into AA again.
In my first HU STT I had A6 against 96 aipf for the win but couldn’t swerve the three-outer and ended up losing. In the second match I managed the only victory of the day courtesy of a rare hold with 77 > A6o aipf against the same opponent.
In my final MTT, a £5.75 Speed BH, I was going great until I failed to hold with QQ against AJo aipf for the chiplead. I was unable to fight back, exiting the first time I was all-in and called when my A6s didn’t improve against AJs.
I might be too busy to play poker tomorrow (Thursday). If that’s the case I will next be back at the tables on Saturday afternoon.
July Poker Points 48
Today’s results;
8113574HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker03/07/2013 12:00NL Hold'em £5 + £0.759/22-£3.878114999HNLST,HU0.25GBPSkyPoker03/07/2013 11:57NL Hold'em £5 + £0.251/2£4.758114963HNLST,HU0.15GBPSkyPoker03/07/2013 11:53NL Hold'em £3 + £0.152/2-£3.158113196HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker03/07/2013 10:45NL Hold'em £3 + £0.338/85-£3.38112938HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker03/07/2013 09:45NL Hold'em £3 + £0.349/86-£3.3
Still taking a kicking from variance. £5.75 Speed Bounty Hunter today, I've seen a lot like this lately;
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalancegemy Small blind 50.00 50.00 4710.00 GaryQQQ Big blind 100.00 150.00 4300.00 Your hole cards Q Q coop198147 Fold BEAR808 Call 100.00 250.00 2920.00 PAll-in 1745.00 1995.00 0.00 gemy Fold GaryQQQ Raise 3290.00 5285.00 1010.00 BEAR808 Fold GaryQQQ Unmatched bet 1645.00 3640.00 2655.00 GaryQQQ Show Q Q P Show A J Flop Q 10 K Turn 5 River 6 P Win Straight to the Ace 3640.00 3640.00
Didn’t play
Day 184
Closing Balance £406.74
Down £5.42 today
Due to getting home from work earlier than expected I had the opportunity to enter a couple of MTTs before going out this afternoon. I soon wish I hadn’t bothered as it quickly became apparent that I’m still unable to win all-in situations.
The downswing continues, I'm now nearly £100 below my peak balance. My June Rewards payment of £3.63 was credited today.
July Poker Points 48
Today’s results;
8119665HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker05/07/2013 11:15NL Hold'em £5 + £0.7535/35-£5.758119504HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker05/07/2013 10:45NL Hold'em £3 + £0.371/85-£3.3
still doing great...all from nothing.
i'm sure the next win won't be too far away.
dev
Closing Balance £418.44
Up £11.70 today
There was a somewhat morale boosting start to my session today with a deep run in a £5.75 BH. Unfortunately it wasn’t as good as it could have been; I crash’ n burnt at the sharp end by losing every all-in to go from chipleader at final table to out in fifth place. Harshest of the lot was my pocket QQ failing to hold against QJs aipf to ladder one place and take a decent head-prize during 5-handed play. My exit came soon after with AK<QJo aipf.
My second £5.75 BH ended early when I came lost my first standard flip of the day with AK<JJ aipf. I found myself the other side of exactly the same race and came second again with JJ<AK aipf in a £2.20 Scary.
Highlight of the day was winning a small afternoon £2.20 deepie (nice call Mystic Dev!). There were only 11 entrants, but a win is a win. Quite how I did it in the end I’ll never know; twice on the bubble I was on fumes in 4/4, firstly after running 67 into QJ on an 89T flop then I ran my nut full-house into the flopped quads of calling station who’d flatted my button open with 64o on the SB (he must have known the 666 flop was coming!). After losing a pair < overcards flip in HU play I was down to 3355 chips (less than starting stack) against 51,645 chips with blinds at 300/600. However I ran well to win all the all-ins from there, helped by my opponent calling too light on several occasions. In the final hand he more or less gifted me victory by raise/calling with 68s, my pocket jacks held up.
I’d been planning to play again, Saturday nights being my only chance of the week to get some evening poker in, however some unexpected family stuff cropped up and I was too busy to play in the end.
This was only my second winning day in the last fortnight, I’ll take it, hopefully a sign my fortunes are changing.
July Poker Points 81
Today’s results;
8123960HNL 0.2GBPSkyPoker06/07/2013 16:20NL Hold'em £2 + £0.21/11£8.88123858HNLST0.2GBPSkyPoker06/07/2013 15:55NL Hold'em £2 + £0.216/31-£2.28124170HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker06/07/2013 15:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.7586/96-£5.758124680HNLSAT0.16GBPSkyPoker06/07/2013 15:10NL Hold'em £1.44 + £0.1614/27-£1.68122809HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker06/07/2013 12:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.755/84£12.45
The highs and lows of tournament poker;
In the mid-stages of the £5.75 I extract full value with my quads. Poker is an easy game when the cards are falling like this.
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalanceGaryQQQ Small blind 150.00 150.00 10430.00 m Big blind 300.00 450.00 19613.75 Your hole cards 3 3 ryan83 Fold jimHFX Fold RiverDream Call 300.00 750.00 43171.00 stuart43 Call 300.00 1050.00 22603.50 GaryQQQ Call 150.00 1200.00 10280.00 m Raise 900.00 2100.00 18713.75 RiverDream Call 900.00 3000.00 42271.00 stuart43 Call 900.00 3900.00 21703.50 GaryQQQ Call 900.00 4800.00 9380.00 Flop K 3 K GaryQQQ Check m Check RiverDream Check stuart43 Check Turn 3 GaryQQQ Check m Bet 900.00 5700.00 17813.75 RiverDream Fold stuart43 Fold GaryQQQ Call 900.00 6600.00 8480.00 River 7 GaryQQQ All-in 8480.00 15080.00 0.00 m Call 8480.00 23560.00 9333.75 GaryQQQ Show 3 3 m Show Q K GaryQQQ Win Four 3s 23560.00 23560.00
Things went pear-shaped later, the deck wasn’t quite so friendly at at the final table.
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalancestuart43 Small blind 400.00 400.00 24107.00 GaryQQQ Big blind 800.00 1200.00 35957.50 Your hole cards Q Q m Raise 1600.00 2800.00 8983.75 hardygirl2 Fold jimHFX Call 1600.00 4400.00 33071.00 stuart43 Fold GaryQQQ All-in 35957.50 40357.50 0.00 m All-in 8983.75 49341.25 0.00 jimHFX Fold GaryQQQ Unmatched bet 26173.75 23167.50 26173.75 GaryQQQ Show Q Q m Show Q J Flop 3 10 5 Turn 6 River 2 m Win Flush to the Queen 23167.50 23167.50
Closing Balance £410.61
Down £7.83 today
All I had time for today was three morning bounty tournaments.
In the 9-45 £3.30 I was an early casualty when I managed to 3-bet/call QQ into the 4-bet shove of a hyper aggressive player with AA. It was a cooler against this particular opponent as QQ is miles ahead of the range with which he’s prepared to play for his stack. Even the maniacs have it sometimes.
From there I jumped into a £5.75 Speed and managed to donk off my stack quite early with a draw that didn’t get there.
For a while I was flying in the 10-45, enjoying the chiplead after getting paid in full twice with flopped top set. Unfortunately the deck turned against me with the bubble approaching. I got unlucky when ahead in a couple of all-in situations then lost a big flip with 99<AK aipf. In the end I stone-called bubbled when I open-jammed pocket TT from UTG into callers with KK and AQ.
July Poker Points 95
Today’s results;
8126308HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker07/07/2013 10:45NL Hold'em £3 + £0.311/70£1.228126213HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker07/07/2013 10:15NL Hold'em £5 + £0.7530/34-£5.758126110HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker07/07/2013 09:45NL Hold'em £3 + £0.372/81-£3.3
Didn’t play
Day 188
Closing Balance £410.61
Up £26.68 today
Volume is low at the moment because I’ve been too busy with other stuff to play much poker.
After a day-off my only tournament today was the 10-45 £3.30 Bounty Hunter. I ran well to make the late stages including cracking pocket QQ with AT when I squeeze-shoved from the button while short in the mid-stages. I also won a 77 > AJ aipf flip (J on the flop, 7 on the turn). On the bubble I jammed Q8o from the SB into a shortish stack on the BB, expecting to get a fold 90%+ of the time. However the villain made a good call with ace-high, unfortunately for him he didn’t fade my two live cards.
There were no soft spots at an aggressive final table (apart from a very short away player who quickly blinded out in sixth). I ended-up with a pleasing runner-up finish in a huge 3-way aipf final hand, there was no heads-up play. I min-raised with AK on the button and both the SB and BB jammed. I briefly considered folding, worried in particular by the BB’s range, however after considering reads and the shallow stack sizes I felt I had to make the call. It was probably the best case scenarios for me; a flip against two under pairs. However I missed my six outs and the chipleader improved to a set to win the tournament.
Usually I’m pretty disappointed with a runner-up finish, however I’m actually quite happy this time. I’ve had a pretty dire run lately, this was my best result for 10 days and my second best in 22. I was particularly relieved to run well in standard all-in situations for once, something I’ve barely seen recently. Even in the final hand I laddered a place thanks to the winner’s pocket 99 outdrawing the third place finisher’s pocket JJ. Had the JJ held-up I would have been placed third.
Right, that tourney took 3 hours to play out, I’d better get back to the DIY or my dinner will be in the dog!
July Poker Points 98
Today’s results;
8132193HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker09/07/2013 10:45NL Hold'em £3 + £0.32/81£26.68
Bounty Hunter final hand, no need for heads-up play in this one.
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalanceG Small blind 1000.00 1000.00 41496.75 d Big blind 2000.00 3000.00 71179.25 Your hole cards K A GaryQQQ Raise 4000.00 7000.00 42324.00 G All-in 41496.75 48496.75 0.00 d All-in 71179.25 119676.00 0.00 GaryQQQ All-in 42324.00 162000.00 0.00 d Unmatched bet 26855.25 135144.75 26855.25 G Show J J d Show 9 9 GaryQQQ Show K A Flop 3 5 5 Turn 9 River 4 d Win Full House, 9s and 5s 135144.75 162000.00
I’m not sure what this guy was playing at; 9BB open/fold?
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalanceGaryQQQ Small blind 30.00 30.00 2555.00 18AND5TIME Big blind 60.00 90.00 2345.00 Your hole cards K A DeanRed Fold Gixxer1 Fold pokermask Fold FRaise 540.00 630.00 1830.00 GaryQQQ All-in 2555.00 3185.00 0.00 18AND5TIME Fold FFold GaryQQQ Show K A GaryQQQ Win 1140.00 1140.00 GaryQQQ Return 2045.00 0.00 3185.00
Closing Balance £438.26
Up 97p today
Just the two morning £3.30s for me today. In the 9-45am I busted quite early after getting an opponent to put in most of his stack with a straight draw that got there on the river. The odds were well in my favour so no regrets there.
In the 10-45 I went on another deep run and enjoyed the chiplead for quite a lengthy spell prior to the bubble. Unfortunately the wheels came off big-time once we were in the money and the short stacks loosened up, I lost four consecutive all-in pre pots to crash ‘n burn in 8th place. I’m happy I made good decisions and that my chips went in in good spots so I have no problem with the result. The hand that essentially finished me off was the third of the four; a cooler when my 88 on the button ran into TT on the SB. Sometimes the way the cards fall when stacks are shallow it’s almost impossible to win no matter what you do.
In the afternoon I decided not to play due to the unexpected maintenance problems that were affecting the site.
July Poker Points 104 (£1.04)
Today’s results;
8135301HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker10/07/2013 10:45NL Hold'em £3 + £0.38/87£4.278135042HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker10/07/2013 09:45NL Hold'em £3 + £0.363/84-£3.3
Closing Balance £483.77
Up £45.51 today
I entered a couple of £5.75 Bounty Hunters today. In the first game I took a head-prize during a promising start, but wasted most of my stack when making a terrible river call in level 4. Soon after I busted when my pocket 44 didn’t win against AQ and KQ aipf for a treble-up that would have got me back in the game with an average stack.
The second tourney went somewhat better. I was chipleader after an early heater during which I took four head-prizes. Highlight was my quad kings doubling me off a player with a flush in only the second orbit. I also got lucky when I didn’t believe an aggressive players 3-bet and set him aipf with my AJ, I spiked an ace to put a beat on his pocket QQ.
With two tables left and several good players to contend with my cards dried up and my stack dwindled. I made the money, though below average as one of the shorter stacks. Then another heater kicked-in. After winning a flip when I 3-bet jammed pocket 77 over AK to double I took another three heads and had surged into the chiplead with three players left.
Unfortunately I couldn’t convert my lead into a win. The deck did me no favours during heads-up play. In the very first hand I doubled my opponent in a 3-bet pre pot. I was fist-pumping when I flopped top two pairs and all the chips went in despite the monotone board. My opponent had flopped the nut flush, an unavoidable cooler in a HU situation. The final hand was a standard flip, I 3-bet jammed KJs with 20BB from the BB and found myself flipping against pocket 33 to get back to level stacks. I caught a jack, but it was of no use, my opponent flopped a set and turned quads to take the victory.
This was my second runner-up in three days, so somewhat frustrating. But none-the-less this is still a useful bink and I feel my results have turned a corner giving me a much needed confidence boost. Suddenly the £500 half-way mark is starting to look close again. It would be nice to get there sometime in the near future.
July Poker Points 120 (£1.20)
Today’s results;
8138487HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker11/07/2013 12:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.752/64£49.388138207HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker11/07/2013 11:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.7527/58-£3.87
What goes around comes around. A great way to start the tournament, I win the max here with my quad kings.
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalanceGaryQQQ Small blind 10.00 10.00 1970.00 alexpm Big blind 20.00 30.00 960.00 Your hole cards K K 18AND5TIME Fold grump Fold c Raise 40.00 70.00 5190.00 GaryQQQ Raise 90.00 160.00 1880.00 alexpm Fold c Call 60.00 220.00 5130.00 Flop 10 K 6 GaryQQQ Bet 100.00 320.00 1780.00 c Call 100.00 420.00 5030.00 Turn K GaryQQQ Check c Bet 100.00 520.00 4930.00 GaryQQQ Call 100.00 620.00 1680.00 River 4 GaryQQQ Bet 295.00 915.00 1385.00 c Raise 590.00 1505.00 4340.00 GaryQQQ All-in 1385.00 2890.00 0.00 c Raise 2180.00 5070.00 2160.00 c Unmatched bet 1090.00 3980.00 3250.00 GaryQQQ Show K K c Show 9 J GaryQQQ Win Four Kings 3980.00 3980.00
You win some, you lose some. Two and a half hours later I find myself the wrong side of quads in the final hand.
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalancem Small blind 800.00 800.00 98035.00 GaryQQQ Big blind 1600.00 2400.00 27565.00 Your hole cards J K m Raise 2400.00 4800.00 95635.00 GaryQQQ All-in 27565.00 32365.00 0.00 m Call 25965.00 58330.00 69670.00 m Show 3 3 GaryQQQ Show J K Flop Q 3 5 Turn 3 River J m Win Four 3s 58330.00 128000.00
Didn’t play
Day 192
Closing Balance £455.37
Down £28.40 today
Results were pretty awful. I’m happy I played well so I’m totally cool with it, it simply wasn’t my turn to be favoured by the deck today.
This afternoon I entered three £5.75 Bounty Hunters though without any luck. There was a lot of bingo style wild gambling to be seen at the tables, something that's very common at the weekends. I kept it tight and got my stack in in good spots but was unable to find enough holds to get anywhere. I try to avoid turning this diary into a bad bore, so I won’t be going into tedious details of hands, suffice to say I took at least one vicious beat in each game.
In the evening I entered a deepie and the Mini. To be honest I never really got anything going in either. Then when it came to the crunch I was the loser in all the all-in pots. In the deepie I lost most of stack when I 3-bet jammed a pair and failed to win the race against two overcards. The pot was worth fourth place in chips with the sharp end looming, no regrets there. Soon after I lost the rest with 66 < 92 aipf. In the Mini I picked a bad time to isolate an all-in shortie when my A8 ran into the big stacks AQ. Ironically the shortie took the main pot with Q9o while I busted in the side pot.
July Poker Points 155 (£1.55)
Today’s results;
8145630HNLB0.5GBPSkyPoker13/07/2013 20:15NL Hold'em £5 + £0.5204/442-£5.58145000HNL 0.2GBPSkyPoker13/07/2013 19:15NL Hold'em £2 + £0.233/74-£2.28147326HNLST,HU0.15GBPSkyPoker13/07/2013 18:26NL Hold'em £3 + £0.151/2£2.858147295HNLST,HU0.15GBPSkyPoker13/07/2013 18:12NL Hold'em £3 + £0.152/2-£3.158147291HNLST,HU0.15GBPSkyPoker13/07/2013 18:05NL Hold'em £3 + £0.152/2-£3.158145855HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker13/07/2013 15:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.7518/97-£5.758145693HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker13/07/2013 14:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.7558/97-£5.758144795HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker13/07/2013 13:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.7538/78-£5.75
It was one of those days, we all have them. I found myself on the wrong side of several like this without anything similar coming back in return.
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalancel Small blind 30.00 30.00 1710.00 birdy31526 Big blind 60.00 90.00 1700.00 Your hole cards A A SARAHM1788 Call 60.00 150.00 1157.50 box05 Call 60.00 210.00 6393.75 GaryQQQ Raise 245.00 455.00 2205.00 wudzy Fold l Call 215.00 670.00 1495.00 birdy31526 Fold SARAHM1788 Fold box05 Call 185.00 855.00 6208.75 Flop K 9 4 l Check box05 Check GaryQQQ Bet 450.00 1305.00 1755.00 l Call 450.00 1755.00 1045.00 box05 Fold Turn 7 l All-in 1045.00 2800.00 0.00 GaryQQQ Call 1045.00 3845.00 710.00 l Show K Q GaryQQQ Show A A River K lWin Three Kings 3845.00 3845.00
Closing Balance £457.91
Up £2.54 today
This morning I entered the two £3.30 Bounty Hunters. I don’t remember too much about the 10-45 apart from the fact that it was a bit of a rollercoaster. After being left with only 360 chips early on by maniac holding T5o I somehow fought back to above average in the late stages. It came to an end after 90 minutes of play when I 3-bet jammed 99 from the BB into an aggressive SB’s open with JJ, an unavoidable cooler with effective stacks only 22BB deep.
In the 9-45 I also survived to the late stages, though having been below average all the way and without a head-prize to my name. Devoid of good cards and short pre-bubble I maintained my stack by making the best of several good shove spots. Then I went on a conveniently timed heater that started on the bubble. I busted three players and took a decent chip lead into the final table. Unfortunately that was when it started to go pear-shaped. With 6 still left I lost a big flip with pair < overcards on the river which would have extended my lead even further going into 5 handed play. Then with 5 left I doubled a player when my K2 couldn’t hold against 36 on a K37 flop leaving me well behind and 4/5 in chips. After fighting as hard as I could to try and get back into the driving seat I eventually crashed out in a disappointing third place after being called and coming second in two standard shove spots.
In the afternoon I tried the £11 Sunday Super Stack for a change. To my amazement play was wild and loose despite the very deep stacks. By mid-way through level 2 there had already been two eliminations at my table. Then in level 4 I saw a 3-way all-in on the flop pot with all the players involved over 100BB deep (top two pairs vs top pair top kicker vs a flush draw, the top pair top kicker sucked-out on the river).
I got bored of being an uber-nit in the second hour and donked off my 15K stack while attempting an awful 3-steet bluff, including a river check/shove with ace-high that failed to get a player off his flopped 5-high flush. I held AK with a draw to the second nut flush. This is the third time I’ve entered the Sunday Super Stack, and probably the last. I simply don’t enjoy it as much as my usual bounty tournaments, in fact the more I play it the more I grow to dislike it. I know many of you here are big fans of deepstacks, however they’re just not my cup of tea. I play for recreation so I’m going to stick to games I enjoy the most.
July Poker Points 176 (£1.76)
Today’s results;
8149929HNL6MX,DN0.3GBPSkyPoker14/07/2013 17:10NL Hold'em £3 + £0.31/6£2.78130973HNL 1.0GBPSkyPoker14/07/2013 15:00NL Hold'em £10 + £127/38-£118147812HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker14/07/2013 10:45NL Hold'em £3 + £0.325/79-£3.38147587HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker14/07/2013 09:45NL Hold'em £3 + £0.33/66£14.14
Closing Balance £485.51
Up £27.60 today
No joy in two morning £3.30 Bounty Hunters. I was coolered in both; KK into AA in one, flopped trips into a flopped house in the other. I also misclick registered in a timed 15 minute tournament. It was a total waste of a buy-in, I can’t stand these shove-fests and never run well in them. I got taken out by a caller with 52o when I open-jammed KJs with 4 minutes left.
Some overdue run-good arrived in a speed £5.75 BH. I won two flips and sucked-out once to bust a shortie on my way to heads-up play. As has been the trend for me lately in £5.75s though the run-good ended as soon as there were two left. Twice I had my opponent all-in and behind when very short, both times he got there. Later, when the odds were reversed, he held. Victory would have seen me break the £500 barrier. Still second place isn’t too shabby I suppose and least I won enough to ensure a winning day.
In the afternoon I jumped in the first tourney running after I logged-on; a small £1 rebuy. As usual these are great value with dead money in the prizepool put in by players who don’t rebuy or add-on and a pretty soft field overall. I got to final table but to no avail, the cards didn’t fall my way when stacks got super-shallow and it became a push/fold game. I got third for a small profit after losing 98% of my stack with ATs<KQo aipf for a pot that would have got me heads-up with a comfy chiplead.
July Poker Points 201 (£2.01)
Today’s results;
8152723HNLST,HU0.25GBPSkyPoker15/07/2013 17:02NL Hold'em £5 + £0.251/2£4.758152576HNLST,HU0.15GBPSkyPoker15/07/2013 16:05NL Hold'em £3 + £0.152/2-£3.158151777HNLR0.1GBPSkyPoker15/07/2013 14:35NL Hold'em £1R + £0.13/20£3.408149889HNLTI0.3GBPSkyPoker15/07/2013 11:00NL Hold'em £3 + £0.311/23-£3.38150713HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker15/07/2013 10:45NL Hold'em £3 + £0.367/67-£3.38150589HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker15/07/2013 10:15NL Hold'em £5 + £0.752/31£32.58150488HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker15/07/2013 09:45NL Hold'em £3 + £0.366/70-£3.3
Closing Balance £472.32
Down £13.19 today
Not much joy for me today.
First up was the 10-45am £3.30 BH. A very short stack and myself were taken out in the same hand by a player who chose to call my 70BB 4-bet shove with 73o. It doesn’t feel good when you get knocked out by such a terrible decision, however you have to remember that it’s the presence of these guys that makes the tournaments so profitable. I’ll make good money off opponents like him in the long run, it’s important they get lucky sometimes as it keeps them in the games.
In a standard speed £5.75 BH I couldn’t get anything going, though at least I managed to take out a shortie for a consolation bounty. I’m happy with my exit, losing most of my stack in a +ev flip with pocket 33 < KQ aipf for a pot that could have got me back in the game and won my second head prize.
After a DIY break I returned to try the 2-00pm £11 game. There was much reckless gambling to be seen, the standard of play at this buy-in seems to vary very little from what you see at £2.30 or £3.30. Unfortunately I didn’t pick up the cards to take advantage. After winning only one small pot in 37 minutes of play I busted in a flip with by far the strongest hole cards I’d seen in that time; my AQ failing to improve against JJ aipf.
In a £5.75 Speed BH I got my first lucky break of the day when I doubled with K9 > TT aipf in level 9 when short, then knocked out the same guy in the next hand with AK > KQ aipf. A second bounty meant I more-or-less won my buy-in back, but my luck dried up on the bubble when it was a push/fold game with the average stack falling under 10BB. I made standard +ev shoves but ran into callers with slightly stronger hands twice and failed to improve.
July Poker Points 235 (£2.35)
Today’s results;
8155408HNLST,HU0.1GBPSkyPoker16/07/2013 15:00NL Hold'em £2 + £0.11/2£1.98155344HNLST,HU0.15GBPSkyPoker16/07/2013 14:51NL Hold'em £3 + £0.151/2£2.858154454HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker16/07/2013 14:45NL Hold'em £5 + £0.758/35-£0.138155289HNLST,HU0.05GBPSkyPoker16/07/2013 14:01NL Hold'em £1 + £0.051/2£0.958153832HNLB1.0GBPSkyPoker16/07/2013 14:00NL Hold'em £10 + £135/54-£118154889HNLST,HU0.05GBPSkyPoker16/07/2013 11:32NL Hold'em £1 + £0.052/2-£1.058153181HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker16/07/2013 11:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.7537/63-£3.418153508HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker16/07/2013 10:45NL Hold'em £3 + £0.352/71-£3.3
Closing Balance £473.77
Up £1.45 today
I only had a small window of time available to play poker today so I made do with a few micro STTs. Had fun and finished a quid up, happy!
July Poker Points 242 (£2.42)
Today’s results;
8157696HNLST,HU0.1GBPSkyPoker17/07/2013 12:18NL Hold'em £2 + £0.11/2£1.98158002HNL6MX,DN0.25GBPSkyPoker17/07/2013 11:44NL Hold'em £2 + £0.251/6£1.758157996HNLT,HU0.05GBPSkyPoker17/07/2013 11:09NL Hold'em £1 + £0.052/2-£1.058157946HNL6MX,DN0.15GBPSkyPoker17/07/2013 11:02NL Hold'em £1 + £0.155/6-£1.15
Going really well!
Once you've completed this what next?
What you have done is amazing, getting from 1000poker points to a decent amount. It took a lot of guts to do this so publically.
Well done and look forward to you hitting 1K.
It feels to me like I'm yo-yoing up and down on a plateau at the moment and progress is painfully slow after some good months earlier. Hopefully my next bink will come sooner rather than later.
I'm not even thinking about what I may do when this is complete. At the moment I don't foresee myself doing another bankroll challenge.