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Same to you, you're playing well, the results will come.
Closing Balance £533.25
Down £11.22 today
Nothing happening again, drew blanks in three MTTs. I unwisely joined in the bingo play in the first and donked myself out with pair < pair aipf early in level 1, a rare lapse of patience for me. In the second and third games I played more sensibly but promising starts came to grief when I was outdrawn in all-in spots as the favourite.
With visitors staying here I’m unlikely to play poker again until Wednesday.
I’m pleased to see The Premiership MTT promotion running at the moment. Unfortunately it’s no use for me or anybody else who cannot play in the evening so I won't be participating.
August Poker Points 47
Today’s results;
8213826HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker04/08/2013 10:45NL Hold'em £3 + £0.358/91-£2.178213696HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker04/08/2013 10:15NL Hold'em £5 + £0.7535/40-£5.758213557HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker04/08/2013 09:45NL Hold'em £3 + £0.387/87-£3.3
Stop and think, how many members reading this would love to turn 1000 points into £100, or even £50, but you're at £500. Yes focus on the goal if you wan to, but reognise what you have done so far. Not hitting £1000 does not equal failure.
Yep, on reflection £0 to £500 is a cool achievement and I'm very proud. However my goal is £1,000. I'm no mastermind, but 'I've started so I'll finish' and I won't rest until I get there.
The most interesting part of this challenge was seeing if I could run up a working bankroll from the 1,000 starting points. That was done a long time ago, eventual success is now a lock. When I start something I like to see it through. So no matter what happens I will maintain the diary to the very end, whether it takes another 2 months or another 2 years.
Didn’t play
Day 214
Closing Balance £527.50
Down £5.75 today
I'm very busy with family stuff at the moment and only had time for one game today.
Went pretty deep in a lunchtime £5.75 BH despite picking up nothing stronger than pocket TT and AK once each. But it was in vain. Close to the bubble with all stacks getting shallow I opened with A9s from my 25BB stack and was flatted by two players including a calling station on the big blind who held A3. An unwise call considering his stack being somewhat shorter than mine, but it’s exactly what I want when I hold a dominating hand. The board ran-out 9 high, unfortunately the villain chased and caught a gut-shot, getting there when he had only 400 chips left. What more can you do? That left me on fumes and I was eliminated soon after.
August Poker Points 55
Today’s results;
8220629HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker06/08/2013 12:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.7517/63-£5.75
Closing Balance £523.61
Down £3.81 today
For the first time until Saturday I managed to play my usual volume today, however I found things still aren’t going my way for the most part.
I ran deepish in the first four MTTs entered but crashed n’ burnt each time short of the money. It was all standard MTT stuff; my opponents draws getting there, mine not getting there, finding myself the wrong side of big coolers, failing to hold when ahead in big 60/40 all-ins, etc.
At the fifth attempt I finally made the money in a £5.75 Bounty Hunter, though ultimately it was destined to end as an anti-climax. Solid tight/aggressive ABC poker and two flip wins (one of which earned my only head-prize) took me to the bubble where I found myself uncomfortable at the table of a hyper-maniac. This guy already had 10 head-prizes under his belt. A few hands after arriving I watched him raise/call with 85o and bust a 3-bet shove from an unfortunate victim holding JJ. Despite the bubble I decided to play for my stack with AT when he 5x opened on my big blind in the knowledge my hand was miles ahead of his any two cards open/call range. My hand held against his A4o and the double gave me enough chips to make the final table, though annoyingly the maniac was drawn on my immediate left.
My exit in fifth came when I jammed 13BB with KQs from the SB over a button limp. As expected the maniac made the call and the limper folded. His 78o flopped top pair to take the lead and turned a flush just to make sure. Ironically after my bust I watched as he then spectacularly donked off his entire runaway chiplead in just one orbit to finish fourth.
Results have been disappointing so far in August. Despite that I’m happy I’m playing well, which is the most important thing. As long as I continue to do so I’m confident upward progress will resume sooner or later.August Poker Points 85
Today’s results;
8224364HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker07/08/2013 13:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.755/73£11.28224074HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker07/08/2013 12:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.7519/52-£5.758224006HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker07/08/2013 12:15NL Hold'em £5 + £0.756/21-£3.878224148HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker07/08/2013 10:45NL Hold'em £3 + £0.318/67-£3.38223885HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker07/08/2013 09:45NL Hold'em £3 + £0.316/69-£2.17
Closing Balance £530.66
Up £7.05 today
It feels nice to report a small winning day after a pretty dire week, however I was left in no doubt I’m still running terribly at the sharp end of MTTs.
All I entered were two £5.75 Bounty Hunters and a DYM. I bricked the first tournament and doubled in the DYM. In the second tournament I feel I played every hand to the best of my ability and gave myself every chance of a decent score, though unfortunately I had to settle for a min-cash with just one head prize courtesy of another cruel beat; my 3-bet shove from the BB with pocket QQ failing to hold against the button’s open with 77. When my opponent turned an open-ender I just knew it was coming.
Skill can only take you so far in an MTT, good luck is also mandatory if you're going to be the winner. This hand is a perfect example; the villain went on to get first place and tasty three-figure score. Not once all day did I win a pot when my chips went in as the underdog.
My £4.88 July Rewards payment was credited today. As usual Friday will be a day off. I’ll be back on Saturday hoping a little bit of weekend run-good will come my way.
August Poker Points 106 (£1.06)
Today’s results;
8229747HNL6MX,DN0.5GBPSkyPoker08/08/2013 12:46NL Hold'em £5 + £0.51/6£4.58227356HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker08/08/2013 12:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.759/72£3.828227075HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker08/08/2013 11:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.7545/66-£5.75
Variance at work. The villain in this hand went on the win £106.29 for first place, I got £9.57 for ninth.
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalancerockmount Small blind 300.00 300.00 12437.52 GaryQQQ Big blind 600.00 900.00 10374.98 Your hole cards Q Q powerfull1 Fold jimHFX Fold Raise 1800.00 2700.00 9716.68 rockmount Fold GaryQQQ All-in 10374.98 13074.98 0.00 Call 9174.98 22249.96 541.70 GaryQQQ Show Q Q Show 7 7 Flop 6 2 4 Turn 5 River 3 Win Straight to the 7 22249.96 22791.66
Didn’t play
Day 218
Closing Balance £517.70
Down £12.96 today
No luck for me all afternoon. I got my stack in in some good spots only to find I’m still running insanely badly when in all-in and called situations with one or more cards to come.
My only cash of the day came from a runner-up finish in a Main Event direct satellite that awarded just one seat. The winner was leading a charmed life; he managed to win four times as a 30/70 underdog in aipf pots at the final table, three of them against me. Whenever I enter a satellite with 3 minute levels I regret the decision as soon it deteriorates into a wild shove-fest many places from the bubble. In my opinion skill edges are negated so much it would be hard to beat the 10% rake. Don’t forget the prize gets raked too. I’m going to avoid these in future even though I profited for my second place finish today.
In the evening I ran somewhat better for a little while. In the Mini I out-flipped Bromley023 when my 3-bet shoved pair beat her raise/call with overcards. Natalie had the misfortune to be the only player I managed to bust in four Bounty Hunter tournaments entered today. Then in a cheap deepstack I busted Waller02 in 3-bet pre blind vs blind confrontation in which we were both light. His flopped two pairs lost to my turned two pairs, an unavoidable cooler for Ryan the way the cards fell. Unfortunately in both tournaments I was unable to profit from my brief spell above average. In the Mini I squeeze-shoved KQs read-less over an UTG limper who turned over pocket AA. Despite falling into a trap this time it was a great shove spot with an auto all-in player sitting out on the big blind, no regrets there. I jammed my last 10BB with Q9 from the button into a caller with KQ on the BB. Its one-way traffic as far as outdraws are concerned for me at the moment, I failed to improve in both hands.
In the Deepstack I busted close to bubble with 88 into QQ preflop. Again no lucky three-outer came my way. I’d watched several opponents catch them against me earlier in the session. Dear RNG; I hope you’re counting, please remember I have several in the bank!
August Poker Points 147 (£1.47)
Today’s results;
8235811HNLB0.5GBPSkyPoker10/08/2013 20:15NL Hold'em £5 + £0.5120/498-£3.168235254HNL 0.2GBPSkyPoker10/08/2013 19:15NL Hold'em £2 + £0.216/89-£2.28236147HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker10/08/2013 18:00NL Hold'em £2 + £0.363/141-£2.38237607HNLST,HU0.05GBPSkyPoker10/08/2013 17:45NL Hold'em £1 + £0.051/2£0.958235863HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker10/08/2013 16:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.7531/70-£5.758236458HNLSAT0.6GBPSkyPoker10/08/2013 16:10NL Hold'em £6.6 + £0.62/8£12.68236079HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker10/08/2013 15:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.7571/107-£5.758236494HNLSAT0.16GBPSkyPoker10/08/2013 15:10NL Hold'em £1.44 + £0.167/23-£1.68235864HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker10/08/2013 14:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.7589/122-£5.75
The hand in which I busted Waller02 from the deepstack. My though process is below;
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalanceGaryQQQ Small blind 75.00 75.00 4556.00 waller02 Big blind 150.00 225.00 5058.00 Your hole cards K 3 eggead Fold bckneil Fold gartcosh1 Fold notaclue2 Fold GaryQQQ Raise 300.00 525.00 4256.00 waller02 Raise 600.00 1125.00 4458.00 GaryQQQ Call 375.00 1500.00 3881.00 Flop 10 2 3 GaryQQQ Check waller02 Bet 900.00 2400.00 3558.00 GaryQQQ Call 900.00 3300.00 2981.00 Turn K GaryQQQ Check waller02 All-in 3558.00 6858.00 0.00 GaryQQQ All-in 2981.00 9839.00 0.00 waller02 Unmatched bet 577.00 9262.00 577.00 GaryQQQ Show K 3 waller02 Show 10 3 River 7 GaryQQQ Win Two Pairs, Kings and 3s 9262.00 9262.00
When folded to me my suited king is ahead of Ryan's range (any two cards), therefore a raise is my standard play. I consider Ryan to be on the tight/aggresive side, but also observant and creative. His 3-bet is somewhat scary, had it been a little bigger I would have considered folding. However I decided to call for two reasons; this was at least my third recent open raise from the small blind, having folded previously I fully expected Ryan to fight back sooner later. Also I only need to put in an extra 375 chips to play for a pot worth 1500, odds of 4/1. A suited king was close to the bottom of my calling range.
What do I put Ryan on at this stage? A wide range actually. Monsters (AK, JJ to AA) are in there obviously, but considering the meta-game factors mentioned above also any pair, any ace (suited or not), any two broadways, suited connectors, even some air are all possible.
On the flop I have bottom pair. That's pretty good as far as I'm concerned. I'm still behind pairs, but I'm now miles ahead of AK and beating many other hands in the range stated above. I expect Ryan to c-bet his entire range. Had I missed the flop completely I'd probably have folded now, however my bottom pair is definitely worthy of a call considering the range I described above. Again I have a good price, I only have to put in 900 chips to try and win a pot of 3300 (3.67/1), I can still win the pot if he gives up on the turn or if I improve.
On the turn I expect Ryan to be more honest and probably give-up with most of his range that has missed, particularly small pairs, ace-high and worse. However I catch a dream card. I'm now also beating all premium pairs (except the very unlikely KK), AK is in terrible shape. There's no way I'm folding now.
When stacks go in it turns out to be an unfortunate cooler for Ryan. I have no criticism of his light 3-bet and small c-bet. If I were to offer any advice it would be to make his pre-flop 3-bigger when bluffing, his best outcome at that point is a fold from me. I considered the price offered too attractive to consider folding considering the range I assigned him.
At the end of the day it was your aggressive play that created this outcome so you deserved to win. Best of luck with the rest of your challenge mate.
Closing Balance £501.56
Down £16.14 today
It’s just not happening for me at the moment. Another losing day, still pretty much doomswitch when all-in with cards to come.
I started with the two morning £3.30 Bounty Hunters. I enjoyed a bright start in the 9-45am with two early heads and the chiplead. But it didn’t last long. I got donked by a maniac with my AQ<J3o aipf, then busted when my flopped set failed to hold against a straight draw.
In the 10-45 I found myself down to 270 chips after only the fourth hand of the tournament. I got all-in on the turn holding 33 with 234Qr on the board. The villain held pocket KK, he hit a two-outer on the river. I somehow survived another hour and fought back to 3.5K but was unable to pull off a miracle comeback.
In an afternoon £2.30 I enjoyed a spell as chipleader again, then crashed and burned again in a short space of time. To start my raise with AT was flatted by calling station holding AK, the AA8 flop was an unavoidable cooler. Soon after that I ran my straight into the nut straight. I open jammed my last 8BB with QJ and couldn’t beat a caller with 65o.
In the evening I played an £11 DYM, carefully table-selecting a soft table. On the bubble I ran AKs into pocket aces.
August Poker Points 168 (£1.68)Despite poor results so far in August I'm totally relaxed about this challenge. I know I'm playing well and that the current mini downswing is due to standard MTT variance alone. I've seen it all several times before and know it won't last forever. If I thought I was playing badly I'd have something to be concerned about. I'm not concerned.
Today’s results;
8241094HNL6MX,DN1.0GBPSkyPoker11/08/2013 19:44NL Hold'em £10 + £14/6-£118238673HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker11/08/2013 14:15NL Hold'em £2 + £0.314/33-£0.88238273HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker11/08/2013 10:45NL Hold'em £3 + £0.335/90-£3.38238061HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker11/08/2013 09:45NL Hold'em £3 + £0.338/80-£1.04
Still running bad. On the receiving end of many like this, none coming back the other way.
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalanceallinmikey Small blind 10.00 10.00 1910.00 * Big blind 20.00 30.00 1375.00 Your hole cards 3 3 K8LOU Fold cenachav Fold bivvster Fold GaryQQQ Raise 60.00 90.00 1605.00 allinmikey Call 50.00 140.00 1860.00 * Raise 160.00 300.00 1215.00 GaryQQQ Call 120.00 420.00 1485.00 allinmikey Call 120.00 540.00 1740.00 Flop 4 3 2 allinmikey Check * Bet 540.00 1080.00 675.00 GaryQQQ Call 540.00 1620.00 945.00 allinmikey Fold Turn Q * All-in 675.00 2295.00 0.00 GaryQQQ Call 675.00 2970.00 270.00 * Show K K GaryQQQ Show 3 3 River K * Win Three Kings 2970.00 2970.00
Closing Balance £522.32
Up £20.76 today
First for me today was a lunchtime £5.75 Bounty Hunter. I enjoyed a bright start when a big hold, albeit with massive equity, won me two head-prizes and a 5.5K stack in level 2. Unfortunately it was short-lived again. I was one card away from my third head-prize and another 3.5K chips when an all-in opponent caught a three-outer on the river. I busted soon after in a spot in which I should have folded. My flopped top pair on a J54r flop came second best against 45o for a pot that included an all-in shortie’s head-prize and some big pre-flop bets.
My second tournament of the day was a £2.20 Rebuy. I spent the first 30 minutes with the chiplead, but never really recovered after doubling up a player with AA<KJs. He turned a diamond flush. I held the ace of diamonds and couldn’t get away. Again I was disappointed to exit due to bad play on my part; an unwise 3-bet shove into a pot with huge overlay failing to get a fold from the chipleaders 88, I held 44.
The third and final tournament saved my day with runner-up finish in a £5.75 Speed Bounty Hunter. At long last a big dose of run-good came my way. I ran like a dream on the way to heads-up including winning a huge pot and eliminating two opponents with two tables left with AK > 44 > 33 aipf. At my starting table I sucked-out after playing a hand awfully to double off an opponent holding AK with my K8 on a king-high flop. At the final table I made a standard shove from the SB into a short stack on the BB with my T8o. He called with AA, I won with a flush. I couldn’t see it through to the end though. The hand that effectively ended it was my 3-bet shoved 77 < QQ aipf, an unavoidable cooler in an aggressive heads-up match with shallow stacks. I got my last 5BB in good but it was over when the winner flop trips.
Although it’s a much needed winning day I’m actually pretty disappointed with myself. I know full well I made stupid plays today in at least three crucial hands. Most days when I log-off I’m cool with results good or bad, happy in the knowledge that I played to the best of my ability. Today I feel I only turned a profit because I got lucky after playing badly. I’m going to have a stern word with myself and make a pledge to play better poker tomorrow!
August Poker Points 192 (£1.92)
Today’s results;
8242520HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker12/08/2013 15:45NL Hold'em £5 + £0.752/31£31.558242614HNLR0.2GBPSkyPoker12/08/2013 14:00NL Hold'em £2R + £0.210/15-£8.808241414HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker12/08/2013 12:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.7552/75-£1.99
OK, I’ve been moaning about running badly when all-in and called with cards to come so far in August. Well, I have to be honest; that changed spectacularly in the £5.75 Speed BH today when I sucked-out twice big time. In this hand T8o is a standard open-shove when folded to me with effective stacks at only 10BB. I expect the villain to have a tight calling range so I’ll pick up the blinds much of the time. Even when called I have equity, also in this tournament you also have to factor in the villains head-prize, he'd eliminated 6 opponents and it made the pot worth much more valuable than just laddering one place and taking his chips. As you see I make a huge suck-out to win, not that that means my play was incorrect. It was a terrible beat for the villain and I feel bad for him/her. However at the same time I feel absolutely no guilt whatsoever about one of these going my way having been on the receiving end much more often than I’d like lately.
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalanceGaryQQQ Small blind 400.00 400.00 29730.00 * Big blind 800.00 1200.00 8080.00 Your hole cards 10 8 CJ111 Fold SevenDue16 Fold GaryQQQ All-in 29730.00 30930.00 0.00 * All-in 8080.00 39010.00 0.00 GaryQQQ Unmatched bet 21250.00 17760.00 21250.00 GaryQQQ Show 10 8 * Show A A Flop 3 K 9 Turn 2 River 7 GaryQQQ Win Flush to the King 17760.00 39010.00
Closing Balance £516.62
Down £5.70 today
I played a blinder in my first game, the 10-45 £3.30 BH. I spent almost the entire tournament card-dead winning only two hands at showdown in nearly two hours. Plenty of patience and some creative plays in carefully chosen spots were necessary to maintain fold equity and negotiate my way to the bubble.
It was to no avail, I stone-cold bubbled in a harsh manner. The tournament short-stack open-shoved from UTG with A7s, the chipleader 3-bet with AKs, I 4-bet shoved with QQ on the big blind. If my pair wins the main pot (50% chance) I double-up to above average and win the shortie’s head-prize. If the AK wins (35% chance) the short stack is bubble boy and I bust with a min-cash. The only possible way for me to bubble was for the A7s to win the main pot and the AKs win the side pot. The flop came down A77, I was eliminated and the shortie trebled-up despite holding only 14% equity pre-flop.
From there I went into a hyper HU match. You know it’s not going to be your day when you lose it with JT < K9 on a JT2 flop as the pre-flop aggressor.
I bricked a £3.30 Freezeout when my pocket TT failed to hold against a 3-bettors KQo on a 7-high flop. My exit came soon after with 55 into JJ aipf.
In an afternoon £5.75 after a promising start I lost a flip JJ < KQ aipf on the river in level 4 where a hold would have given me my second head-prize and the chip lead. I kept my cool, busting a shortie soon after, then took my third bounty in spectacular fashion when my AK flopped quads aipf against JJ. It went pear-shaped after that. I made a tight but almost certainly correct fold with AQ to a turn shove on an ace-high flop, then doubled a shortie with AQ < KK aipf. With four tables left a harsh table draw saw me saw between the three biggest stacks in the tournament, they had plenty of chips to throw around and I was hand-cuffed. Soon after I got my stack in with AK again. There were no miracle quads this time as I lost that most standard of all tournament flips; AK < QQ aipf.
A small losing day but I don’t really mind. I had a fair bit of fun at the tables and played much better than yesterday.
August Poker Points 204 (£2.04)
Today’s results;
8244786HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker13/08/2013 13:30NL Hold'em £5 + £0.7521/81£0.828245718HNL 0.3GBPSkyPoker13/08/2013 13:00NL Hold'em £3 + £0.322/28-£3.38246371HNLST,HU0.05GBPSkyPoker13/08/2013 12:56NL Hold'em £1 + £0.052/2-£1.058244565HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker13/08/2013 10:45NL Hold'em £3 + £0.311/75-£2.17
The good, the bad and the ugly.
The good, flopping quads to win a flip;
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalance Small blind 50.00 50.00 3217.25 Tings89 Big blind 100.00 150.00 2062.50 Your hole cards K A F_Ivanovic Fold GaryQQQ Raise 200.00 350.00 3612.75 deawatts14 Fold Raise 450.00 800.00 2767.25 Tings89 Fold GaryQQQ All-in 3612.75 4412.75 0.00 All-in 2767.25 7180.00 0.00 GaryQQQ Unmatched bet 545.50 6634.50 545.50 Show J J GaryQQQ Show K A Flop K K K Turn A River 5 GaryQQQ Win Four Kings 6634.50 7180.00
The bad, making use of 'creative' play when short-stacked and card-dead;
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalanceLuke62 Small blind 100.00 100.00 12479.00 GaryQQQ Big blind 200.00 300.00 2789.00 Your hole cards 6 Q brains37 Fold All_is_one Fold Raise 400.00 700.00 9820.00 Luke62 Fold GaryQQQ Call 200.00 900.00 2589.00 Flop 3 J 5 GaryQQQ Check Bet 450.00 1350.00 9370.00 GaryQQQ All-in 2589.00 3939.00 0.00 Fold GaryQQQ Muck GaryQQQ Win 1800.00 1800.00 GaryQQQ Return 2139.00 0.00 3939.00
The ugly, a miracle for the short stack sees me bubble a Bounty Hunter tournament the hard way;
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalanceLuke62 Small blind 300.00 300.00 13704.00 GaryQQQ Big blind 600.00 900.00 6867.00 Your hole cards Q Q All-in 1635.00 2535.00 0.00 Raise 3600.00 6135.00 25158.25 brass777 Fold Luke62 Fold GaryQQQ All-in 6867.00 13002.00 0.00 Call 3867.00 16869.00 21291.25 GaryQQQ Show Q Q Show A 7 Show A K Flop A 7 7 Turn 10 River 5 Win Full House, 7s and Aces 5205.00 5205.00 Win Flush to the Ace 11664.00 32955.25
Closing Balance £554.84
Up £38.22 today
No joy in the two morning £3.30s today. I was disappointed with myself and didn’t deserve anything; I busted from both after getting my stack in well behind when I should have known better.
Some luck came my way in a lunchtime Speed £5.75 Bounty Hunter. It only attracted a small field of 25 runners, however I was delighted to bink first place. It became my first Bounty Hunter win for three weeks and my third win at £5.75 during this challenge. I feel I played good aggressive turbo MTT poker throughout and deserved this overdue win. I was assisted by running well in all-in situations too, as are all MTT winners. My only big suck-out came on the stone-cold bubble when 4th/4. My JT was an open-shove from the button with effective stacks only 10BB deep and a level increase imminent. The BB made a good call with KTs but I spiked a jack to score a lucky double-up. However it certainly wasn’t all one-way traffic, that came not long after the same player had doubled off me with KJo > A7s (king on the river) on the bubble for his tournament life and a pot that could have given me 70% of the chips in play with three left.
HU play didn’t last long. The hand that effectively won it for me was waking up with pocket AA on the BB. I slowplayed my monster by flatting an open raise rather than risk scaring away my opponent with a 3-bet. The villain flopped top pair, stacks went in and he didn’t improve. It was all over in the next hand when my open-shove with K-high held against 8-high.
In an afternoon £3.30 freezeout I busted in the mid-stages soon after losing quite a bit, though probably the minimum, with pocket JJ < pocket AA. My exit hand was QQ < TT for my last 14BB, the player with TT flopped quads. Both were unavoidable situations so I have no problem the my play or the outcome.
August Poker Points 220 (£2.20)
Today’s results;
8249020HNL 0.3GBPSkyPoker14/08/2013 13:00NL Hold'em £3 + £0.312/28-£3.38247910HNLB0.75GBPSkyPoker14/08/2013 11:15NL Hold'em £5 + £0.751/26£48.128247783HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker14/08/2013 10:45NL Hold'em £3 + £0.346/71-£3.38247496HNLB0.3GBPSkyPoker14/08/2013 09:45NL Hold'em £3 + £0.379/79-£3.3
£5.75 HU play, my aces make a crucial hold, victory was mine in the next hand. At long last I've remembered how to make holds when all-in and ahead
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalance* Small blind 600.00 600.00 30320.00 GaryQQQ Big blind 1200.00 1800.00 19880.00 Your hole cards A A * Raise 1800.00 3600.00 28520.00 GaryQQQ Call 1200.00 4800.00 18680.00 Flop 5 4 Q GaryQQQ Check * Bet 2400.00 7200.00 26120.00 GaryQQQ Raise 7200.00 14400.00 11480.00 * All-in 26120.00 40520.00 0.00 GaryQQQ All-in 11480.00 52000.00 0.00 * Unmatched bet 9840.00 42160.00 9840.00 *Show Q J GaryQQQ Show A A Turn 3 River 5 GaryQQQ Win Two Pairs, Aces and 5s 42160.00 42160.00
keep it going.
dev
Closing Balance £555.89
Up £1.05 today
I’m upgrading to a new laptop today so I didn’t have much time for poker.
MTT’s were out of the question, so I jumped into four STTs instead. Had good fun and won a quid. What is there not to like about that?
FWIW I still haven’t played a single cash hand since starting this challenge.
August Poker Points 233 (£2.33)
Today’s results;
8252687HNL6MX,DN0.5GBPSkyPoker15/08/2013 13:40NL Hold'em £5 + £0.51/6£4.58252714HNLST,HU0.15GBPSkyPoker15/08/2013 13:16NL Hold'em £3 + £0.151/2£2.858252653HNLST,HU0.15GBPSkyPoker15/08/2013 13:09NL Hold'em £3 + £0.152/2-£3.158252680HNLST,HU0.15GBPSkyPoker15/08/2013 13:01NL Hold'em £3 + £0.152/2-£3.15
Tilt; I almost tilt to the extent that I feel my decision making process is being affected so it's not really an issue for me. Like anybody I'll be seen yelling an obscenity at my monitor, cursing the RNG and throwing my arms in the air in disgust every now and then. However the cat is safe and I never vent in the chatbox. On the very rare occasions I feel my play is being affected I end the session ASAP.
Table selection; Obviously I mainly play MTTs so table selection doesn't apply. Because my playing time is limited I purely choose my events by the convenience of their start time. Sometimes I table select if play STTs. When I started this challenge and had almost no bankroll I was playing micro STTs only and table selecting everything very careful. I'm at the point now where I'll take on anybody in cheap HU or DYM games, ie £5.50 or less. If I play higher than that I feel a Sharkscope search is prudent before investing.
Day 224
Didn't play
Day 225
Closing Balance £561.66
Up £5.77 today
My session started terribly. I had a rude welcome to the tables in the first orbit of my first game. With 98o on the BB I completed behind a min-raise to see a flop 4-ways and flopped the nuts with 67Tr on the board. I called a pot sized donk-lead from the SB on the flop, then his open-shove on the T turn. He held T5o, the river was a 5 to give him the runner-runner full house.
I busted my second tournament in the first hand, a rarity for me. I went with a read and played for stacks in a 3-bet pot holding AQ on a dry ace-high flop. The villain had me this time with his AK. There was also no joy for me in a cheap Scary.
A final table run came at the fourth attempt with a fifth place finish in a £5.75 Bounty Hunter. This being despite suffering a horrendous cooler in level one when I was rubbing my hands with glee thinking I'd be sitting with 3x starting stack and two head-prizes (see below). I kept my cool and ran deep by keeping it tight/aggressive and making a few hands. Unfortunately the cards didn't fall my way after arriving at final table as one of the shorter stacks. I got aipf with my AKs against the A9o of the table maniac for a pot that would have put me up to third of six but had to settle with a chop when we both made a wheel. Then when down to 11BB I ran my pocket TT into QQ in the blinds. It was a somewhat frustrating near miss in the end but I wouldn't have played any of my hands differently with hindsight so I'm cool with the result.
In The Mini I had the best possible start with my KK holding over JJ on a low flop for a double and head-prize in the first hand, though I lost 500 chips back on the second hand with ATs < A9o on an ace-high flop when a 9 was dealt on the river. I spent an hour after that playing few hands and treading water due to a lack of playable cards while others at my table were in the mood for a gamble. By level 8 less than a third of the field were left and my stack had dwindled to only 20BB, so it was time to bite
the bullet and either boom or bust and I started to throw my chips around.
Unfortunately it was bust not boom. After chipping up from 4K to 5.5K I got my stack in with the flopped nuts; QJ with 9TK on the board. Unfortunately I couldn't fade a caller with a low flush draw which hit when the 6c fell on the river. Had I held I'd be sitting with 1.5x average with 25% of the field left. On such things are poker tournaments decided.
I ran pretty badly today but still turned a small profit so can't complain. I'm playing well, as long as I maintain that I'll be able to cash in when the good luck comes my way. I'm going out tomorrow and will next be seen the poker tables on Monday.
August Poker Points 259 (£2.59)
8258410
H
NL
B
0.5
GBP
SkyPoker
17/08/2013 20:15
NL Hold'em
£5 + £0.5
137/542
-£3.62
8257947
H
NL
TI
0.0
GBP
SkyPoker
17/08/2013 18:30
NL Hold'em
Freeroll
463/974
£0
8258458
H
NL
B
0.75
GBP
SkyPoker
17/08/2013 16:30
NL Hold'em
£5 + £0.75
5/83
£19.64
8258324
H
NL
ST
0.2
GBP
SkyPoker
17/08/2013 15:55
NL Hold'em
£2 + £0.2
19/22
-£2.2
8258645
H
NL
B
0.75
GBP
SkyPoker
17/08/2013 15:30
NL Hold'em<span class="NormalTextRun SCX175193579
Day 226
Closing Balance £548.36
Down £13.30 today
Unexpectedly I was able to play a couple of afternoon games, my day out being cut short by a child falling unwell. However it was impossible for me to win today the way the cards were falling.
First game going after I logged-on was a £2.30 Bounty Hunter. I ran lol bad. Twice a found myself with an opponent happy to call any post-flop bet with no showdown value, just a gut-shot to chase. Both times he/she got there on the river. With 20BB left I flopped the nuts, KQ in hand with 9TJr on the board. My opponent held 9J, he caught a jack on the river and I was out without having won a single pot.
From there I late registered in the Sunday Super Stack. I carried straight on from where I'd left off in the Bounty Hunter, my opponents continued to catch perfect cards on the river in every pot involving me and my stack gradually eroded to half of average. I kept patient and rallied for a while in the mid-stages finally managing to win a few pots. However it was in vain, when my big chance finally came I busted to a nasty beat after getting my stack in with 89% equity; KK v 99 on a TTJ flop for a pot worth third in chips with half the field left.
August Poker Points 262 (£2.62)
Today’s results;
(to follow)
I feel I'm playing as well as ever, unfortunately I'm not finding the run-good to go with it. £11 Super Stack exit hand;
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalanceGaryQQQ Small blind 400.00 400.00 15180.00 guess04 Big blind 800.00 1200.00 37488.75 Your hole cards K K goldenb238 Fold tyler88 Fold * Raise 1600.00 2800.00 47590.00 GaryQQQ Raise 2500.00 5300.00 12680.00 guess04 Fold * Call 1300.00 6600.00 46290.00 Flop 10 10 J GaryQQQ Bet 4000.00 10600.00 8680.00 * All-in 46290.00 56890.00 0.00 GaryQQQ All-in 8680.00 65570.00 0.00 * Unmatched bet 33610.00 31960.00 33610.00 GaryQQQ Show K K * Show 9 9 Turn 7 River 8 * Win Straight to the Jack 31960.00 65570.00
Day 227
Closing Balance £544.71
Down £3.65 today
First game for me today was the 10-45am £3.30 BH. I somehow negotiated my way into the money despite spending most of the tournament below average. A timely AKs /> AQs aipf hold a few spots from the money brought me into contention for the first time. I burst the bubble by check/shoving from the BB when my 93s flopped bottom pair and a flush draw. The short-stacked limper on the button had flopped top two pairs, however his unwise decision to open-limp with AT brought about his downfall when my flush got there, with stacks shallow I'd have folded to any open-raise.
On the final table bubble I lost a standard flip then won one, pairs beating overcards each time. Going into final table I was below average but I took the tournament chip-lead for the first time with five left when I won a big 3-way aipf; my JJ /> TT and KQs. Going into to HU play I was slightly behind. Unfortunately it was all one-way traffic and I barely won a pot. The way the cards were falling I didn't standard a chance, I was coolered several times and flopped ahead only to fall behind on turns and rivers. Second place was OK I suppose but I was disappointed not to get the win having held a healthy lead with three left.
In the afternoon I couldn't commit to an MTT so I sat in a few STTs. It was a total nightmare, I played below my best and ran horrendously, totally unable to win any all-in situations. I lost back more than I'd won in the morning and wished I hadn't bothered.
August Poker Points 295 (£2.95)
Today’s results;
8266414 H NL ST,HU 0.5 GBP SkyPoker 19/08/2013 16:58 NL Hold'em £10 + £0.5 2/2 -£10.5 8266339 H NL 6MX,DN 0.5 GBP SkyPoker 19/08/2013 16:57 NL Hold'em £5 + £0.5 5/6 -£5.5 8266254 H NL ST,HU 0.05 GBP SkyPoker 19/08/2013 16:23 NL Hold'em £1 + £0.05 1/2 £0.95 8266313 H NL L,HU 0.2 GBP SkyPoker 19/08/2013 16:19 NL Hold'em £2 + £0.2 2/2 -£2.2 8266250 H NL 6MX,DN 0.15 GBP SkyPoker 19/08/2013 16:18 NL Hold'em £1 + £0.15 5/6 -£1.15 8266322 H NL ST,HU 0.05 GBP SkyPoker 19/08/2013 16:18 NL Hold'em £0.5 + £0.05 2/2 -£0.55 8266316 H NL ST,HU 0.15 GBP SkyPoker 19/08/2013 16:13 NL Hold'em <p style="font-size:6pt;font-family:'Segoe UI',Tahoma,Verdana,'Sans-Serif';vertical-align:baseline;font-weight:normal;color:windowtext;font-style:normal;text-align:center;background-color:transparent;text-indent:0px;" class="Par
Day 228
Closing Balance £527.61
Down £17.10 today
My session only lasted 50 minutes today. I managed to bust from 4 MTTs in that time, two of them in the first orbit, two of them with flopped sets failing to hold against gutshots. I was running terribly and could feel tilt setting in so I decided to quit for the day before I lost a painful chunk of my balance.
August Poker Points 306 (£3.06)
Today’s results;
(to follow)
Closing Balance £605.84
Up £78.23 today
I only played in two tournaments today. In a £3.30 Bounty Hunter absolutely nothing happened, I barely made a hand, only won one small pot with a post-flop c-bet, then busted in my first flip when getting short.
The second, a £5.75 Bounty Hunter, went much better. Unlike most cases recently my flopped sets were filling up to full-houses rather than losing to draws. Three times in the early stages my boats got paid and I soon established myself as chip leader. After slipping back somewhat the mid-stages my decision to slow play quad threes when sitting on the small blind in a 4-way pot paid dividends; the aggressive table leader made a straight on the river and paid me a full double to put me back to the top of the field.
I cruised through the bubble comfortably with my big stack, though after a barren run of cards I was down to 4th/6 when we broke to final table. Then I enjoyed one of those golden poker moments during four-handed play. I found myself aipf as the biggest stack in a 3-way pot, my pocket KK facing ATo and pocket 99. As soon as the cards were turned over I yelled at the screen 'No ace! No nine!'. I didn't sweat for long; I flopped quads again to make a double elimination and get heads-up with a decent lead.
Heads-up went badly for me for quite a while. I was facing a tricky opponent who was playing very well, he put me in several tough spots and deservedly took the lead. Mind you, he was also helped somewhat by the deck, winning three decent pots with hands that were dominated pre-flop including A2o /> QQ after flatting my pre-flop 3-bet .
During a 5 minute break I decided I needed to adopt a more aggressive strategy to stop bleeding chips. It worked and they soon started to come back the other way. The final hand came when I'd built a 92K/36K lead. With blinds at 800/1600 I 3-bet jammed pocket 77 and faced a race when my opponent called with KQ. My pair won the flip and victory was mine. If I remember correctly it was my first and only flip of the entire tournament.
I've been on the wrong side of variance lately, so this win balances things up nicely. I won for two reasons; I flopped really well several times throughout the tournament. Also I played well to make the most of my opportunities. I didn't suck-out once in the entire game, but I did make several big holds. Winning the one and only flip when it arose during HU play was pretty sweet too.
This was my fourth £5.75 Bounty Hunter win during this challenge. All the run-bad I've experienced in August has been banished from my mind and replaced with confidence. I'm logging off very happy and delighted to record a new highest balance.
August Poker Points 328 (£3.28)
Today’s results;
8270099 H NL B 0.75 GBP SkyPoker 21/08/2013 11:30 NL Hold'em £5 + £0.75 1/64 £79.65 8270450 H NL B 0.3 GBP SkyPoker 21/08/2013 10:45 NL Hold'em £3 + £0.3 53/78 -£3.3
Flopping quads for fun on my way to victory in a £5.75 Bounty Hunter today. Mid-stages;
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalanceGaryQQQ Small blind 75.00 75.00 7671.75 cashmon634 Big blind 150.00 225.00 7237.50 Your hole cards 3 3 * Call 150.00 375.00 12693.00 cougar196 Fold kpb Call 150.00 525.00 3985.00 GaryQQQ Call 75.00 600.00 7596.75 cashmon634 Check Flop 3 3 4 GaryQQQ Check cashmon634 Check * Bet 150.00 750.00 12543.00 kpb Fold GaryQQQ Call 150.00 900.00 7446.75 cashmon634 Fold Turn J GaryQQQ Check * Bet 150.00 1050.00 12393.00 GaryQQQ Raise 450.00 1500.00 6996.75 * Call 300.00 1800.00 12093.00 River 5 GaryQQQ Bet 1350.00 3150.00 5646.75 * Raise 5850.00 9000.00 6243.00 GaryQQQ All-in 5646.75 14646.75 0.00 * Call 1146.75 15793.50 5096.25 GaryQQQ Show 3 3 * Show 2 A GaryQQQ Win Four 3s 15793.50 15793.50
Boom! Final table;
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalance* Small blind 500.00 500.00 34005.25 * Big blind 1000.00 1500.00 14347.50 Your hole cards K K Limp2Lose Fold GaryQQQ Raise 2000.00 3500.00 35778.10 * All-in 34005.25 37505.25 0.00 * All-in 14347.50 51852.75 0.00 GaryQQQ All-in 35778.10 87630.85 0.00 GaryQQQ Unmatched bet 3272.85 84358.00 3272.85 * Show 9 9 * Show A 10 GaryQQQ Show K K Flop K 7 K Turn 6 River J GaryQQQ Win Four Kings 84358.00 87630.85
vwp sir
very well played Gary...
soon be opening that champagne bottle...again!
ian