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Closing Balance £451.22
Down £22.55 today
No luck today. I played in £5.75 and £11 Bounty Hunters and a couple of HU matches. Didn’t make many hands and ran into a few cooler situations. I lost both coin-flips and all but one of the all-in and calls involving me. I'm happy that I played as well as I could with the cards I was dealt, so no worries.
I’m not expecting to play much poker over the weekend. I definitely won’t be playing at all on Friday or Sunday, hopefully I’ll have time to get a few games in on Saturday afternoon.
July Poker Points 264 (£2.64)
Today’s results;
8161041HNLST,HU0.05GBPSkyPoker18/07/2013 14:00NL Hold'em £0.5 + £0.052/2-£0.558159600HNLB1.0GBPSkyPoker18/07/2013 14:00NL Hold'em £10 + £121/48-£118161007HNLT,HU0.25GBPSkyPoker18/07/2013 13:43NL Hold'em £5 + £0.252/2-£5.258159412HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker18/07/2013 13:15NL Hold'em £5 + £0.7522/27-£5.75
Didn’t play
Day 197
Closing Balance £465.11
Up £13.89 today
In my first afternoon MTT today, a £5.75 BH, I suffered a frustrating bust when my AJ was unable to hold against an OOP calling station prepared to play for stacks holding 93s on an AJx flop with only a 9-high flush draw. It was a great opportunity for me to double-up to a top five a few spots from the money, however the flush got there and it wasn’t to be.
Second up was a speed £5.75 BH. I busted in the mid-stages, unable to improve when I got my stack in with a suited ace as a 32/68 underdog against a pair. It was a standard spot with effective stacks only 18BB deep.
My third tourney, another standard £5.75 BH, saw my only cash of the day. Solid tight/aggressive poker and some decent hands to play with saw me make it to the money with relative ease. Exits were slow once the bubble had burst, so the final table was mainly a pre-flop game right from the start with the average stack at only just over 20BB. The first exit came at my hands when my call with AQ held over a 10BB open-shove with AJ. Unfortunately I lost a huge pot just two hands later when I 3-bet shoved 99 on the button over a short-stacks jam and ran into JJ in the blinds. The shortie trebled-up with K6o and the JJ won the much bigger side-pot. With just 8BB left I only had one play available. I jammed Q7 from the SB and was busted by a button limp/caller with QT for a disappointing fourth place finish. I’m happy with my play. The 99 < JJ hand was just one of those unavoidable coolers with a short-stack already all-in and all stacks shallow. I’d jam in the same spot every single time, raise/folding a big part of my stack being unthinkable.
In the evening I returned just in time for the Mini and enjoyed a flying start. I picked up AK on the SB in the very first hand and decided I wasn’t in the mood for either folding or flatting. Three of us ended up aipf, I spiked an ace to treble-up and bust unknown opponents holding 66 and QJ! Obviously I’d have looked like a total idiot had I run into kings and aces, but you see so much wild play at the weekend that I considered it worth a gamble. It was a high variance play, but it worked out this time. I’d have got it in without hesitation had I known their hole-cards considering the bounty format, though I wouldn’t have in a freezeout. An orbit later I took my third head with AA > QQ aipf. With only 6 hands played I was already on a freeroll courtesy of the head-prizes. This is one of the fascinating quirks offered by Bounty Hunters, my favourite MTT format.
However as we all know the early leaders almost never win big-field tournaments, in fact they usually don't cash either and this was no different. In level 6 I lost a massive 7K pot after getting my stack in with 96 against 98 on a 976 flop. It was close to a flip with my hand a slight favourite but the straight got there on the river. After that nothing went my way and I exited with 88 < JJ aipf well short of the money. It was fun while it lasted.
July Poker Points 294 (£2.94)
Today’s results;
8165951HNLB0.5GBPSkyPoker20/07/2013 20:15NL Hold'em £5 + £0.5163/468£0.148166178HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker20/07/2013 15:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.754/82£27.358167310HNLT,HU0.1GBPSkyPoker20/07/2013 15:03NL Hold'em £2 + £0.12/2-£2.18166060HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker20/07/2013 14:45NL Hold'em £5 + £0.759/23-£5.758165155HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker20/07/2013 13:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.7517/74-£5.75
A case of ‘what might have been’. After a flying start this was the beginning of the end for me in the Mini. The villain was playing a very loose/aggressive style and was applying a lot of post flop pressure. I considered my two pairs to be ahead of his shoving range. If I win I take out a tough opponent and have the luxury of a top five stack. I play for first place in MTTs and have no qualms about taking spots like this. Whoever wins tonight will have to get lucky in a similar situations several times on the way.
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalancechipsink Small blind 50.00 50.00 4240.00 GaryQQQ Big blind 100.00 150.00 10160.00 Your hole cards 6 9 blu6 Fold n Raise 200.00 350.00 3160.00 Silvafox Fold ALLIN55555 Fold chipsink Fold GaryQQQ Call 100.00 450.00 10060.00 Flop 6 7 9 GaryQQQ Check nBet 450.00 900.00 2710.00 GaryQQQ Raise 1095.00 1995.00 8965.00 n All-in 2710.00 4705.00 0.00 GaryQQQ Call 2065.00 6770.00 6900.00 GaryQQQ Show 6 9 nShow 8 9 Turn 3 River 5 nWin Straight to the 9 6770.00 6770.00
Didn’t play
Day 199
Closing Balance £440.71
Down £24.40 today
No joy today, I entered three afternoon bounty tournaments but left empty handed. I didn’t get many cards to play with and never really got anything going. All four times I was all-in and called for my tournament life I lost (3 MTTs, 1 STT).
I have no problem with any of my exit hands. I was coolered with a flopped nut straight into a flopped flush in a £2.30. In my first £5.75 when I’d fallen below average I squeeze/shoved A7s from the SB over a serial limper who called and held with ATo. In the second £5.75 I was the wrong side of a pair < pair button vs BB aipf clash.
I rarely buy into £10.50 HU STTs, but I couldn’t resist it when I saw a below average player waiting for a game whose game I know well. I was defeated in the first hand with AA < 74s. All the chips went in on the flop, his 7-high flush draw with a gut-shot got there on the river. Ouch!
July Poker Points 320 (£3.20)
Today’s results;
8173599HNLST,HU0.5GBPSkyPoker22/07/2013 16:27NL Hold'em £10 + £0.52/2-£10.58173610HNLST,HU0.05GBPSkyPoker22/07/2013 16:05NL Hold'em £1 + £0.052/2-£1.058172480HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker22/07/2013 14:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.7536/89-£5.758173382HNLST,HU0.05GBPSkyPoker22/07/2013 14:17NL Hold'em £1 + £0.051/2£0.958172017HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker22/07/2013 14:15NL Hold'em £2 + £0.315/16-£2.3
Not my day. My only pocket aces of the session fail to hold in a £10.50 HU STT.
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalance Small blind 10.00 10.00 490.00 GaryQQQ Big blind 20.00 30.00 480.00 Your hole cards A A Call 10.00 40.00 480.00 GaryQQQ Raise 48.00 88.00 432.00 Call 48.00 136.00 432.00 Flop 8 6 J GaryQQQ Bet 85.00 221.00 347.00 Raise 170.00 391.00 262.00 GaryQQQ All-in 347.00 738.00 0.00 All-in 262.00 1000.00 0.00 Show 7 4 GaryQQQ Show A A Turn 8 River 9 Win Flush to the 9 1000.00 1000.00
Closing Balance £524.87
Up £84.16 today
I only entered two tournaments today. In the first, the 10-45am £3.30 Bounty Hunter, I was knocked out by a beat in a great spot. I’d been drawn at a wild bingo table which meant there had been rapid eliminations. With a massive 9.2K pot in the middle, worth the chiplead with blinds at 30/60, my maniac opponent got there to bust me when he check/shove bluffed on the flop with an open-ended straight draw that gave him less than 30% equity against my made hand and re-draw to the nut-flush.
Maybe the deck did me a favour, I jumped straight from there into the 11-30am £5.75 Bounty Hunter which went much better.
This time I was a drawn at a more sensible table with decent opponents playing good poker. After a fairly quiet first half during which I chipped up slowly playing small-ball pots I ran really well from the mid-stages onwards, picking up more than my usual share of decent hole-cards and connecting well with many flops. On my way to the final table I somehow won 3/3 flips and got lucky to bust short stacks with A7>A8 and 44>TT, both aipf. It felt damn good to take my turn as the guy who couldn’t lose all-ins, it was long overdue.
At final table it was a bit of a yoyo job for me from three left. There were no soft spots and all three of us were playing aggressive poker. After starting adrift in 3rd/3 I won yet another flip to take the chip lead briefly, though my flipping skills finally deserted me when I lost one with 88<AK aipf for a pot that would have got me HU with a 3/1 chip lead when a king landed on the river (it’s always the river!). However I kept my calm and fought back, regaining the lead again when my SB 3-bet shove with A9 held against the button’s somewhat loose raise/call with KJ.
Going into heads-up play I was slightly behind, however I felt I was favourite as a Sharkscope search told me that my opponent, while being a winning MTT player, has never played any HU STTs here on Sky. I recommend that all MTT players play occasional HU STT sessions to hone their HU skills After all the HU battle is the most important stage of the entire tournament, more money is on the line that at any other time.
To my surprise it was all over very quickly, essentially settled in the eighth hand. By setting myself an aggro image in early skirmishes I successfully induced a massive bluff when I’d turned quads to leave my opponent’s stack on life support. He doubled three times from there and I began to sweat. But there was to be no miracle, I finally killed him off at the fourth attempt for a very pleasing win.
This was my second £5.75 BH victory of this challenge so far coming after a few near misses earlier in the month. It feels great to finally break the magical half-way mark. I’m confident the second half of this challenge will take less than 200 days.
July Poker Points 331 (£3.31)
Today’s results;
8174205HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker23/07/2013 11:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.751/77£87.468174532HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker23/07/2013 10:45NL Hold'em £3 + £0.354/97-£3.3
Flipping well on my way to the £5.75 BH win. This is the hand that broke the final table bubble. The villain is a skilled regular with a 5-figure profit to his name from Sky Poker MTTs. Being in urgent need of a double I expect him to correctly be shoving a very wide range when folded to when down to 7BB. In his seat I'm shoving almost any two cards. So when you factor in his head-prize too my K9 becomes a very easy call. This was one of 4/5 coin-flips I won on my way to victory. Often whoever comes out on top in these 'standard' spots is the player who goes on to win, I was that lucky guy this time. If you have better pushing and calling ranges than the field in these late shallow-stacked situations success will eventually come your way.
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalance* Small blind 400.00 400.00 5915.00 GaryQQQ Big blind 800.00 1200.00 21510.00 Your hole cards 9 K tinytellah Fold makapaka Fold * All-in 5915.00 7115.00 0.00 GaryQQQ Call 5515.00 12630.00 15995.00 * Show 4 4 GaryQQQ Show 9 K Flop 8 K 8 Turn 10 River 7 GaryQQQ Win Two Pairs, Kings and 8s 12630.00 28625.00
The hand that essentially sealed victory. It’s not easy getting paid when you’re holding quads, so I was delighted when my opponent made this massive bluff to rep a seven or better at the worst possible time.
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalance* Small blind 800.00 800.00 77417.50 GaryQQQ Big blind 1600.00 2400.00 74182.50 Your hole cards 7 7 * Call 800.00 3200.00 76617.50 GaryQQQ Raise 3395.00 6595.00 70787.50 * Call 3395.00 9990.00 73222.50 Flop 4 2 7 GaryQQQ Bet 1750.00 11740.00 69037.50 * Call 1750.00 13490.00 71472.50 Turn 7 GaryQQQ Check * All-in 71472.50 84962.50 0.00 GaryQQQ All-in 69037.50 154000.00 0.00 * Unmatched bet 2435.00 151565.00 2435.00 * Show 2 J GaryQQQ Show 7 7 River 4 GaryQQQ Win Four 7s 151565.00 151565.00
Some of those days where you seem to go backwords would be very frustrating for some and they would probably lose sight of their goals, but it's great to see a player with so much focus and knowing realistically we will have these type of downswingy thingy days.
It certainly looks like you have the mentality & patients to succeed where others would probably fail and it's always an inspiration to read your diary.
Keep up the good work m8 and best of luck.
cheers,
TEDDY
Knowing that players like Teddy are helped by this diary is my biggest motivator to see this challenge through to the end. It's particularly pleasing when a player unknown to me mentions this thread in the chatbox. It reminds me that a lot of lurkers who never post on the forum do follow some of the diaries and find them a good source of inspiration.
Closing Balance £539.07
Up £14.20 today
Due to a busy morning I didn’t get online until later than usual. I registered in the first game going, a small £2.20 Rebuy. With only 9 entrants and 2 places paid it was essentially a sit-n-go. I was pleased to win it for £14.20 profit on my £6.60 invested.
These small rebuys are very soft in my experience, it’s just a shame there isn’t more money on the line. As usual about half the entrants weren’t taking rebuys and only two of my four opponents still alive took the add-on when available. I got to heads-up by playing solid tight/aggressive poker and cashing in when my opponents made mistakes. My HU opponent was competent, though perhaps a little on the tight side. The hand that all-but clinched victory was my A9 clashing with AT on an A98 flop, all the chips went in and I managed to fade the turn and river. My only suck-out of the game came in the very final hand. I open jammed K7s and cracked pocket 99. However my opponent was down to only 4BB at the time and still would have needed to double twice more to regain the lead.
After that I was tired and short on time, so I called it a day.
July Poker Points 337 (£3.37)
Today’s results;
8178739HNLR0.2GBPSkyPoker24/07/2013 12:00NL Hold'em £2R + £0.21/9£14.20
Progress so far;
http://img690.imageshack.us/img690/6398/vmzp.jpg
ejoying the learning curve though, and probably learnt more from today's horror session than when the draws came in /opponent meekly tilts his stack off on a winning day.
cheers,
TEDDY
Great work Gary, a testiment to what a solid player you are and how good BRM can get you there in the end if you stay focussed, disciplined, play well and put the time in.
I'm not sure I'd say I'd describe myself as 'smashing it' having just spent over a month going nowhere fast up until a couple of days ago.
I must admit I'm enjoying the current mini-heater, I hope it lasts.
Closing Balance £565.86
Up £26.79 today
A decent run in my only tournament today ended up as a very near miss with a runner-up finish in the 10-45AM £3.30 Bounty Hunter.
I was fortunate to be drawn at fairly soft tables, tight/aggressive ABC tournament poker and a few big holds saw me through to the late stages with relative comfort. With five players left on the final table the eventual winner had blinded down to only 1BB when he jammed ace-rag from the button and trebled-up. The table maniac then doubled him up several more times to give the guy an unlikely chiplead before I busted the maniac in fourth place. I took out a shortie who finished third a few hands later.
I gave heads-up play my best shot after starting with a 1/2 chip deficit. My opponent turned-out to be a strong HU player and chips were traded back and forward for a while. The game was settled by the first all-in and call. I jammed 18BB with pocket 66 over the villains open limp. He called my shove with JTo, a J landed on the river. Had I faded that river I’d have taken the 2/1 advantage and given myself a good shot at victory. But it wasn’t to be, it was a spot I had to take if I wanted to get first place, therefore I can live with the result good or bad.
The tournament had taken three hours to play out and with other stuff to do I decided to call it a day. As is usual for me at the moment Friday will be a day off from poker.
July Poker Points 340 (£3.40)
Today’s results;
8180762HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker25/07/2013 10:45NL Hold'em £3 + £0.32/68£26.79
Incredibly the player on the button in this hand came back to win the tournament despite letting his stack blind down to only one big blind at the final table!
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalancebrian4628 Small blind 600.00 600.00 43374.50 GaryQQQ Big blind 1200.00 1800.00 51976.50 Your hole cards 7 3 joecole Fold PEACEPAW Fold * All-in 1369.00 3169.00 0.00 brian4628 Call 769.00 3938.00 42605.50 GaryQQQ Call 169.00 4107.00 51807.50 Flop 4 9 10 brian4628 Check GaryQQQ Check Turn J brian4628 Check GaryQQQ Check River J brian4628 Check GaryQQQ Check * Show A 2 brian4628 Muck 6 2 GaryQQQ Show 7 3 * Win Pair of Jacks 4107.00 4107.00
I’m enjoying a nice little heater at the moment. My account at the time of writing;
http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/7342/7lgh.jpg
(click pic below to enlarge)
Didn’t play
Day 204
Closing Balance £560.85
Down £5.01 today
There was a high proportion of wild gamblers in the tournaments I entered today, as is often the case at the weekend. It’s somewhat frustrating when the tables are playing like that when you’re looking for a decent game of poker, however it doesn’t mean the games aren’t still profitable. The best strategy in my experience is to tighten up considerably and hope to get paid when you pick up a premium pair or smash a flop.
However it never really felt like it was going to be my day and I never got a decent run going, not that I’m complaining after enjoying a sweet heater midweek. I picked few playable hands and didn’t run too well in all-in situations. My only MTT cash came in a Speed Rebuy in which I got 8th/82 after buying in 20 seconds before the end of late registration.
Still, I had fun and enjoyed several hours of play at a cost of only a fiver. Great value for money if you think about it; a couple of pints down the pub would have cost more and been over a lot quicker.
July Poker Points 368 (£3.68)
Today’s results;
8187874HNLB0.5GBPSkyPoker27/07/2013 20:15NL Hold'em £5 + £0.5217/487-£5.58188209HNLR0.2GBPSkyPoker27/07/2013 18:30NL Hold'em £2R + £0.28/82£10.098189713HNL6MX,DN0.3GBPSkyPoker27/07/2013 18:07NL Hold'em £3 + £0.31/6£2.78187875HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker27/07/2013 16:15NL Hold'em £2 + £0.316/30-£1.558188650HNLSAT0.3GBPSkyPoker27/07/2013 15:45NL Hold'em £3.3 + £0.38/19-£3.68189334HNLST,HU0.15GBPSkyPoker27/07/2013 15:44NL Hold'em £3 + £0.152/2-£3.158187942HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker27/07/2013 14:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.7545/120-£3.87
Sometimes it’s just not your day. I’m happy I played my pocket kings correctly in this hand taken from tonight’s Mini Bounty Hunter. Obviously my opponent is never folding his/her nut-flush draw and overcards on that flop. I’m not folding my overpair either. When the stacks go in my hand is a slight favourite, though at 56/44 it’s pretty much a flip. To win tournaments you have to have no fear of taking these spots, the day the stars align and you manage to win several confrontations like this is the day you’ll enjoy a juicy bink.
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalancesmiffy88 Small blind 40.00 40.00 1825.00 barcombe Big blind 80.00 120.00 4515.00 Your hole cards K K d Raise 320.00 440.00 2060.00 Gullyman Fold CSCS Fold GaryQQQ Raise 795.00 1235.00 2855.00 smiffy88 Fold barcombe Fold d Call 475.00 1710.00 1585.00 Flop 5 7 6 d Check GaryQQQ Bet 950.00 2660.00 1905.00 d All-in 1585.00 4245.00 0.00 GaryQQQ Call 635.00 4880.00 1270.00 d Show J A GaryQQQ Show K K Turn 8 River K d Win Flush to the Ace 4880.00 4880.00
best wishes
(* *)
^
dev
They're a friendly bunch Vespa, the town is nice and lively and it's good to see them here.
Closing Balance £554.65
Down £6.20 today
The only MTTs I entered today were two morning £3.30 BHs. Unfortunately much like yesterday most of my competitors just wanted to play aipf ‘bingo poker’ and it wasn’t my numbers that were being called. I prefer a decent game over wild gambling so I decided to give tournaments a swerve for the rest of the day.
A bit later I tried a few HU matches for fun and roughly broke even after a bad start.
July Poker Points 386 (£3.86)
Today’s results;
8192469HNLST,HU0.25GBPSkyPoker28/07/2013 14:16NL Hold'em £5 + £0.251/2£4.758192484HNLST,HU0.25GBPSkyPoker28/07/2013 14:11NL Hold'em £5 + £0.251/2£4.758192447HNLST,HU0.25GBPSkyPoker28/07/2013 14:02NL Hold'em £5 + £0.252/2-£5.258192404HNLHU0.1GBPSkyPoker28/07/2013 13:55NL Hold'em £2 + £0.12/2-£2.18192406HNLST,HU0.05GBPSkyPoker28/07/2013 13:46NL Hold'em £1 + £0.052/2-£1.058190406HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker28/07/2013 10:45NL Hold'em £3 + £0.377/104-£3.38191752HNLHU0.1GBPSkyPoker28/07/2013 09:50NL Hold'em £2 + £0.12/2-£2.18190197HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker28/07/2013 09:45NL Hold'em £3 + £0.317/84-£1.9
Eyes down; put your stack in, close your eyes and hope for the best. I saw plenty of ‘bingo poker’ at my tables today.
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalance Small blind 15.00 15.00 657.50 Big blind 30.00 45.00 2397.50 Your hole cards 9 5 Fold Raise 90.00 135.00 4525.00 Call 90.00 225.00 1200.00 LB438 Fold All-in 657.50 882.50 0.00 Call 642.50 1525.00 1755.00 All-in 4525.00 6050.00 0.00 All-in 1200.00 7250.00 0.00 All-in 1755.00 9005.00 0.00 Unmatched bet 2187.50 6817.50 2187.50 Show A Q Show 9 8 Show 3 A Show K Q Flop 5 4 7 Turn 6 River 3 Win Straight to the 9 6817.50 6817.50
Closing Balance £564.58
Up £9.93 today
I only had time for two late-morning MTTs today, and they only got half my usual attention because I was also dealing with end-of-month business paperwork. I’m happy with my play, I just didn’t see quite enough of the necessary run-good to make a decent score.
I was going great in my first tourney, a speed £5.75. I’d coolered several opponents and with the sharp end looming I was sitting second in chips with 4 head-prizes to my name. Then an untimely dose of run-bad cost me most of my stack. My open on the button with AQ was flatted by the SB with KQ. He bluff re-raised my c-bet with a gut-shot on the ATx flop. You can guess the rest. Failing to fade the draw was the difference between a runaway chiplead with another head-prize and the very short stack I ended up with.
Next up was a £3.30 Freezeout. I lost my first big flip of the tournament with 88 < AK aipf on the final table bubble to leave myself 7th/7 and never fully recovered. I fought back for a min-cash but was doomed soon after three-handed play began when I ran my ace into KJ on an AQT flop. An unavoidable cooler with all stacks very shallow.
I returned to the tables in the afternoon, though I didn’t have time for any MTTs. So I played a few STTs for fun and roughly broke even.
July Poker Points 407 (£4.07)
Today’s results;
8195907HNL6MX,DN0.5GBPSkyPoker29/07/2013 17:14NL Hold'em £5 + £0.51/6£4.58195860HNLST,HU0.15GBPSkyPoker29/07/2013 16:41NL Hold'em £3 + £0.152/2-£3.158195676HNL6MX,DN0.25GBPSkyPoker29/07/2013 16:10NL Hold'em £2 + £0.251/6£1.758195641HNLHU0.1GBPSkyPoker29/07/2013 15:54NL Hold'em £2 + £0.12/2-£2.18194702HNL 0.3GBPSkyPoker29/07/2013 12:00NL Hold'em £3 + £0.33/16£6.78193937HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker29/07/2013 11:15NL Hold'em £5 + £0.7512/33£2.23
Closing Balance £575.73
Up £11.85 today
My session started badly and ended well. For my first hour at the tables I was totally doomswitched, losing a series of all-ins as the favourite. At that point I could feel frustration setting in and was close to quitting for the day and going off to do something else.
I decided to have one last try in two tournaments that both started at midday; a £2.20 rebuy and a £3.30 freezeout. Just like the last time I played it the rebuy was very soft. I won it in comfort again with my usual 3 buy-ins invested (entry fee, an immediate re-buy and the add-on). On the bubble I had over 50% of the chips in play and used it to bully the short-stacks, giving myself such a lead that it would have been hard not to win. I ended up heads-up against the same player I defeated the last time I was in this (Day 201), prevailing quickly with an AJ > KT aipf hold.
A double would have been nice, however the freezeout was destined to become a near-miss. Despite spending most of the tournament as chipleader I had to settle for second place. Heads-up play was over after only a few hands. It ended with a cooler. As the preflop aggressor I turned a straight with my A2. The villain, who was defending very wide, rivered a full-house with his 63o. I could never put him on that and with preflop effective stacks only 20BB deep there was no getting away from my hand despite the paired board.
I’m pleased to see I finish the day on a new highest balance. Could have been worse, I'll take it.
July Poker Points 430 (£4.30)
Today’s results;
8198493HNLST,HU0.05GBPSkyPoker30/07/2013 12:04NL Hold'em £0.5 + £0.052/2-£0.558197896HNL 0.3GBPSkyPoker30/07/2013 12:00NL Hold'em £3 + £0.32/21£15.68197897HNLR0.2GBPSkyPoker30/07/2013 12:00NL Hold'em £2R + £0.21/10£11.88198472HNLST,HU0.1GBPSkyPoker30/07/2013 11:54NL Hold'em £2 + £0.12/2-£2.18198329HNLST,HU0.1GBPSkyPoker30/07/2013 11:37NL Hold'em £2 + £0.12/2-£2.18196423HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker30/07/2013 11:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.7560/72-£5.758198418HNLST,HU0.05GBPSkyPoker30/07/2013 11:17NL Hold'em £1 + £0.051/2£0.958196777HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker30/07/2013 10:45NL Hold'em £3 + £0.361/78-£3.3
Bubble abuse in the rebuy, four left with three paid. I could sense that neither the SB nor the BB wanted to be bubble-boy and they had both tightened up considerably. In a spot like this I can shove any two cards from the button profitably knowing their calling ranges are so tight I'll pick up the blinds nearly every single time.
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalance Small blind 150.00 150.00 3930.00 Big blind 300.00 450.00 3550.00 Your hole cards 4 2 Fold GaryQQQ All-in 19365.00 19815.00 0.00 Fold Fold GaryQQQ Muck GaryQQQ Win 750.00 750.00 GaryQQQ Return 19065.00 0.00 19815.00
Closing Balance £562.23
Down £13.50 today
Not my day.
I took a harsh one to bust from my first tournament, a standard £5.75 Bounty Hunter. In the mid-stages my 3-bet on the button with pocket KK was met by a cold 4-bet over-shove from the player on the big blind. I was never folding and considered it very unlikely he would play aces that way. The villain binked a jack on the turn to improve to a set, bust me, scoop the 110BB pot and take the chip lead.
Returning to the tables in the afternoon I jumped in the first game going, a £2.30 Bounty Hunter. All was going well until a limper holding 33 let me see a free flop with my T3 on the big blind. The flop came down T32r. I was then busted by AQs < KTo aipf. The AQx flop looked pretty good…….the J on the river didn’t!
From there I went into a £5.25 HU match. I busted with JJ < 55 aipf. That was enough, I decided my doomswitch had been activated and quit for the day.
July Poker Points 448 (£4.48)
Today’s results;
8202332HNLT,HU0.25GBPSkyPoker31/07/2013 15:01NL Hold'em £5 + £0.252/2-£5.258202264HNLST,HU0.05GBPSkyPoker31/07/2013 14:49NL Hold'em £1 + £0.052/2-£1.058200706HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker31/07/2013 14:45NL Hold'em £2 + £0.310/12-£2.38202012HNLST,HU0.05GBPSkyPoker31/07/2013 13:00NL Hold'em £1 + £0.051/2£0.958199839HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker31/07/2013 11:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.7529/67-£5.758201854HNLT,HU0.05GBPSkyPoker31/07/2013 11:27NL Hold'em £1 + £0.051/2£0.958201846HNLST,HU0.05GBPSkyPoker31/07/2013 11:22NL Hold'em £1 + £0.052/2-£1.05
Not my day. £5.75 Bounty Hunter exit;
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalanceTrojan1904 Small blind 40.00 40.00 7540.00 * Big blind 80.00 120.00 6880.00 Your hole cards K K Hoyzer Call 80.00 200.00 3555.00 josh58411 Raise 160.00 360.00 4000.00 sainthelen Fold GaryQQQ Raise 475.00 835.00 3812.50 Trojan1904 Fold * All-in 6880.00 7715.00 0.00 Hoyzer Fold josh58411 Fold GaryQQQ All-in 3812.50 11527.50 0.00 * Unmatched bet 2672.50 8855.00 2672.50 * Show J J GaryQQQ Show K K Flop 7 5 9 Turn J River 3 * Win Three Jacks 8855.00 11527.50
£5.25 Heads-up exit;
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalanceGaryQQQ Small blind 15.00 15.00 765.00 * Big blind 30.00 45.00 1190.00 Your hole cards J J GaryQQQ Raise 45.00 90.00 720.00 * Raise 120.00 210.00 1070.00 GaryQQQ Raise 300.00 510.00 420.00 * All-in 1070.00 1580.00 0.00 GaryQQQ All-in 420.00 2000.00 0.00 * Unmatched bet 440.00 1560.00 440.00 GaryQQQ Show J J *Show 5 5 Flop 5 9 2 Turn 10 River 9 * Win Full House, 5s and 9s 1560.00 2000.00
Closing Balance £564.46
Up £2.23 today
I only had time for one game today. I was going great in a £5.75 Bounty Hunter, near the top of the field with only a quarter of the field remaining, until a short sharp two hand dose of run-bad ruined my chances. With blinds at 75/150 and holding pocket AA on the BB I put in a 3-bet to 895 over a min-raise and a call from opponents both holding around 3500 chips. Three of us played for stacks on the 6K9 flop. I faded KQ, but not A9 which turned trips. The pot was worth the chiplead and another two head-prizes, unfortunately lady luck wasn’t on my side this time.
An orbit later I called an 8BB open shove with my A9s. Despite catching a 9 I was unable to hold against the villain’s A6o which made a runner-runner flush. By now I was well below average, I fought hard but couldn’t find a way back, busting close to the bubble when I jammed 9Ts from the button into ATs on the big blind, the same guy who’d trebled-up with A9 > AA > KQ earlier.
To win a poker tournament these two things must happen; you have to play well and you need to run well. I feel I’m playing better poker than the average opponent in my games at the moment. So the ‘have to play well’ requirement is in place. However it’s much harder to run well for the three hour plus duration of a tournament, something over which none of us have any control. So I’m staying relaxed about results good or bad. As long as I continue to play to the best of my ability I know another decent score will follow when it’s my turn to enjoy that elusive run-good again.
August Poker Points 8
Today’s results;
8203731HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker01/08/2013 13:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.7513/67£2.23
Much of July went badly as I struggled to find much tournament late-stages run-good. However just when I was expecting to reporting my first losing month a sweet heater came out of nowhere in the last week to more than make up for earlier losses. Highlight was my second £5.75 Bounty Hunter win of this challenge on July 23rd, this being my second biggest bink so far.
Volume remains low, I took 6 days off and only earned 448 Poker Points, though that's up from the 361 earned in June. Considering I haven't been playing too much I'm very happy with progress to date. Volume will probably remain low through August and September.
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
July...........£442.09......to......£562.23.....+27% growth
Didn’t play
Day 211
Closing Balance £544.47
Down £19.99 today
No joy today. I played a few low stakes MTTs without any success. Theme of the day was chipping up reasonably well in early levels only to get outdrawn later when stacks grew shallow.
I’m happy with my play, but when the cards aren’t falling your way good results simply aren’t going to happen. I try to avoid turning this diary into a bad-beat bore so I won’t prattle on about individual hands, suffice to say that apart from one exception where I sucked out in the Mini the deck decided to give me a bashing in all-in situations. I was good at getting my chips in ahead, not so good at making holds.
August Poker Points 31
Today’s results;
8211990HNLSAT0.3GBPSkyPoker03/08/2013 17:35NL Hold'em £3.3 + £0.313/21-£3.68211428HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker03/08/2013 16:45NL Hold'em £5 + £0.758/32-£3.878211057HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker03/08/2013 15:15NL Hold'em £2 + £0.37/21-£2.3
All the best and keep up the good work mate.