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Closing Balance £790.41
Up £96.85 today
Boom!
I entered three Bounty Hunter tournaments today. In the first two, a £2.30 Speed and an £11 game, I got nothing going and left empty-handed.
As for the third game; for a few days I've been saying I feel a bink is coming, and it did
Confidence counts for so much in poker. I've been 'in the zone' for a few days, playing well and getting fairly deep often. Just not finding enough of that all-important late-stages run-good to take it all the way. Well, it turned out I was right; the stars aligned this afternoon and I pulled it off in a £5.75 Bounty Hunter with 101 entrants.
Much of it is a haze now, and I haven't been through the hand history yet, but for the first hour and a half I was below average and struggling. Twice when falling down towards the 10BB danger zone I managed to double when my pre-flop shoves were called and my hand held-up. I don't remember making any major mistakes and slowly built my stack from there to move towards the top of the field as we approached the late-stages.
If my memory is correct I didn't actually flip once in the whole tournament. I did suck-out once, though I'm certain my play was correct in the circumstances. When down to two tables I had a loose aggressive opponent to deal with. He was very difficult to play and putting all of the table under enormous pressure. Soon after doubling off him when I 3-bet shoved TT over his usual raise behind a limper (my tens held against A8s and also busted the limper who called with a smaller pair, a crucial hand) he open-shoved from the SB into my BB with 9BB behind. I held A6o, it was the final table bubble. Against this particular villains range I considered any ace to be a call. As it was I got lucky and made a straight to get there against his AJ. When you consider he'd eliminated 8 players and had a big bounty on his head it makes the call a no-brainer in my opinion, you could even argue for making the call with just about any two cards.
Going into final table I was second in chips, there was nobody at the table I feared and I knew I was in with a good chance of victory. The chip leader was on my direct left. He was playing 'unconventional' poker and proved a tough nut to crack. On one occasion when we were down to three-handed I raised with A8 on the button and he flat-called OOP with a junk hand on the SB. I bet the ace-high flop, and the turn eight which improved my hand to two pairs. On the river the villain caught a gut-shot to make the nuts, having held zero showdown value on previous streets. I fired a fairly small value bet and he only called. Just about any other player would have led out with a big bet or re-raised in his spot. That hand took me from chipleader back to third and was an example of how awkward he was to beat.
I kept patient and eventually I got him when I opened raised from the SB with AJo. He opted to defend with AQ rather than re-raise. I got his stack on an AJx flop and went into heads-up play with a big lead. The deck had been very kind to me during three-handed play. It was hard to get paid, but I remember making three sets, two nut-flushes and picking up pocket AA twice.
The chips were going one way only right from the start of heads-up. I kept picking up hands and I can only assume my opponent wasn't. When I'd ground him down to <10BB my A3s was an easy open-shove from the SB. I got a call from QTo and my hand held for a sweet victory.
Poker is a funny game. Two weeks ago I was absolutely sick of it after a month-long downswing and had almost no motivation to play. Thank goodness I managed to pull myself out of the rut and reset my own bad attitude. Look at the difference it's made, I've rebuilt to a new highest balance and feel like I'm on the crest of a wave.
October Poker Points 595 (£5.95)
Today’s results;
8508497 H NL B 0.75 GBP SkyPoker 28/10/2013 14:30 NL Hold'em £5 + £0.75 1/101 £108 8507896 H NL B 1.0 GBP SkyPoker 28/10/2013 14:00 NL Hold'em £10 + £1 66/76 -£11 8509555 H NL ST,HU 0.1 GBP SkyPoker 28/10/2013 13:59 NL Hold'em £2 + £0.1 1/2 £1.9 8507821 H NL B 0.3 GBP SkyPoker 28/10/2013 13:45 NL Hold'em £2 + £0.3 30/30 -£2.3
Thanks for the rail
+1 again
Mini heater and you could have this closed out by the end of the month!
GL today & tomorrow!
Absolutely amazing, & an inspiration to so many.
Many congrats Gary.
Good to see you come through the downswing in style.
Use the confidence and stay disciplined on the buy-ins
GL
In Response to Re: 1,000 Poker Points -----> £1,000 Can it be done? Latest balance £790.41: That would be awesome if it happens, but I'd say its less than a 1% chance. I'll be happy if it's done and dusted by Christmas.
In Response to Re: 1,000 Poker Points -----> £1,000 Can it be done? Latest balance £790.41: Haha, I'm sure your input made all difference!
I've just been through the hand history. For some reason none of the classic aipf flip situations, eg AK v QQ aipf when shallow, arose in hands involving me. In fact I was only dealt AK once in the entire tournament (301 hands). I picked it up during heads-up play and got a walk on the big blind.
Six times I was aipf with a pair, spots that easily could have turned into a flip. Four times I got a call, twice against an ace with a card lower than my pair, once by a smaller pair, once against both of those. Each time my pair held up. Twice I forced pre-flop folds. The most significant being on the stone-cold bubble when I jammed pocket 55 from the BB over a min-raise and a flat call. Both opponents were short, I was deep enough to take the hit if I doubled one of them up. I knew neither would be keen to flip, not wanting to be bubble-boy having picked up very little in head-prizes. So I decided I had big fold equity, and indeed they did both fold.
Strategy tip for those of you who play in Bounty Hunters; on the bubble you can pick on short-stacked players who have nothing (or very little) banked in head-prizes with a wide range. They will often be playing very tight, more desperate to survive for a min-cash than the others. Players who've already locked-up a tidy sum in head-prizes won't be too bothered by the min-cash and are therefore much more likely to fight back, against those guys a somewhat tighter range is more appropriate.
Closing Balance £775.86
Down £14.55 today
I only had time for three games today. There was no repeat of yesterdays run-good.
First game was a £3.30 Bounty Hunter. After an hour of play I got my stack in with a flopped set against a nut-flush draw, a desirable spot but I couldn't fade the draw.
In a DYM with stacks growing shallow I raised pre-flop with AQs, got a call from chipleader's J9o. The flop came down QT8. I avoided going broke but it left me very short and I couldn't find a way back.
Last up was a £5.75 Bounty Hunter. Little went my way and I was never above starting stack. At one point I had a shortie all-in pre-flop, his JTo against my AJ. The board ran out J8T8T. I busted soon after with JJ into QQ aipf.
No worries, I'm cool with the results when I'm satisfied I played well. Nobody can win every day. A 'two steps forward, one step back' style of progress is fine with me. I'll be back for another crack tomorrow morning.
October Poker Points 611 (£6.11)
Today’s results;
8512921 H NL 6MX,DN 0.5 GBP SkyPoker 29/10/2013 12:32 NL Hold'em £5 + £0.5 5/6 -£5.5 8510995 H NL B 0.75 GBP SkyPoker 29/10/2013 12:30 NL Hold'em £5 + £0.75 43/66 -£5.75 8511064 H NL B 0.3 GBP SkyPoker 29/10/2013 10:45 NL Hold'em £3 + £0.3 49/104 -£3.3I made a series of holds for a big score yesterday, so I can't complain about them not going my way today.
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalance Small blind 50.00 50.00 6402.50 faith4614 Big blind 100.00 150.00 4547.50 Your hole cards 9 9 pkrgoddz09 Fold GaryQQQ Raise 200.00 350.00 2140.00 Oggy40 Call 200.00 550.00 4090.00 youngone14 Fold Call 150.00 700.00 6252.50 faith4614 Fold Flop Q 9 7 Check GaryQQQ Bet 350.00 1050.00 1790.00 Oggy40 Fold Raise 700.00 1750.00 5552.50 GaryQQQ All-in 1790.00 3540.00 0.00 Call 1440.00 4980.00 4112.50 Show A 6 GaryQQQ Show 9 9 Turn 5 River 2 Win Flush to the Ace 4980.00 9092.50
Closing Balance £800.41
Up £24.55 today
I started my session with the two morning £3.30 Bounty Hunters. In the 10-45am I took a bad-beat to bust in the mid-stages.
In the 9-45 I had a near-miss finishing in third place. I'm content that I played well and made good decisions throughout so I'm cool with the result and a useful cash. When short with two tables left I got lucky to double with QJ /> KQ aipf when I squeeze/shoved over limpers. I lost a standard final table flip with AK < 99 flip with five left to leave my stack very short. However I then managed to win a KQ /> 88 aipf flip, then doubled again next hand when somebody three-bet shoved after I'd made a min-raise with pocket AA.
Four handed play seemed to last forever, about an hour I think. All four of us had spells as the leader. Eventually stacks got very shallow and something had to give. The fireworks began when I took out the fourth place finisher with AQ /> QT aipf and took the lead going into three-handed play. Moments later the SB shoved 11BB into my BB and I called with AT, he flipped over Q8o. Had the pot come my way I'd have been heads-up with 70% of the chips in play, however an eight fell on the flop and I didn't hit my cards. I exited three hands later with KTo < A3o aipf blind vs blind.
The 9-45 had taken over three hours to play out. I was pretty tired and not in the mood for another three hours of poker so I decided against registering for any more MTTs. I noticed my balance was on £798.51. To get myself past the psychological £800 mark I entered and won a £2.10 HU MATCH before logging off.
Another bink or two and the finishing line will suddenly feel very close.
October Poker Points 618 (£6.18)
Today’s results;
8516408 H NL HU 0.1 GBP SkyPoker 30/10/2013 13:34 NL Hold'em £2 + £0.1 1/2 £1.9 8514629 H NL B 0.3 GBP SkyPoker 30/10/2013 10:45 NL Hold'em £3 + £0.3 28/79 -£3.3 8514398 H NL B 0.3 GBP SkyPoker 30/10/2013 09:45 NL Hold'em £3 + £0.3 3/85 £25.95
Downswing conquered. Latest graph of progress, click pic or link to enlarge;
http://img826.imageshack.us/img826/2750/inur.jpg
Nice going Gary
Absolutely right, the heaters feel so good
Closing Balance £803.23
Up £2.82 today
No cashes to report today. I busted from three Bounty Hunter tournaments short of the money, though in each I gave myself the chance of a deep run and won some consolation money back in head-prizes. I'm aware I made a couple of mistakes during play, however I feel I played well overall so I'm happy whatever the results.
Twice I got lucky when all-in and behind; 66 /> JJ and Aks /> Ako, both for doubles when short in a £5.75. I also got unlucky and coolered a few times. Most notably in the £11 tournament when my flopped nut-flush came second best to a full-house that got there on the river for a large pot worth the chiplead at the time. My opponent had flopped top set and was never folding, we both slow-played the flop and I probably lost the minimum in the circumstances.
It looks like I won't have enough time to enter any MTTs tomorrow so it's quite likely I'll take a day off poker.
October Poker Points 644 (£6.44)
Today’s results;
8518212 H NL B 1.0 GBP SkyPoker 31/10/2013 14:00 NL Hold'em £10 + £1 12/46 £7.76 8517807 H NL B 0.75 GBP SkyPoker 31/10/2013 12:30 NL Hold'em £5 + £0.75 20/69 -£1.53 8517570 H NL B 0.75 GBP SkyPoker 31/10/2013 11:30 NL Hold'em £5 + £0.75 25/57 -£3.41
Monthly results so far;This hand shows the value of note-taking. I didn't recognise the villains screen-name, he'd not long joined the table when this hand was played. Notes I'd taken sometime in the past told me that his oversize post-flop bets were usually bluffs and that smaller bets indicated strength. This made my decision to shove over his crazy turn bet relatively easy. Against certain other opponents this would be a snap fold for similar reasons. I always make notes during play and recommend that all other regular players do the same.
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalanceGaryQQQ Small blind 15.00 15.00 1575.00 brass777 Big blind 30.00 45.00 2100.00 Your hole cards 10 9 powerfull1 Call 30.00 75.00 1675.00 jokev10 Fold * Call 30.00 105.00 2075.00 empee381 Call 30.00 135.00 2665.00 GaryQQQ Call 15.00 150.00 1560.00 brass777 Check Flop 9 4 2 GaryQQQ Bet 95.00 245.00 1465.00 brass777 Fold powerfull1 Call 95.00 340.00 1580.00 * Call 95.00 435.00 1980.00 empee381 Fold Turn 2 GaryQQQ Bet 95.00 530.00 1370.00 powerfull1 Fold * Raise 720.00 1250.00 1260.00 GaryQQQ All-in 1370.00 2620.00 0.00 * Call 745.00 3365.00 515.00 GaryQQQ Show 10 9 * Show 4 3 River Q GaryQQQ Win Two Pairs, 9s and 2s 3365.00 3365.00
A pleasing return to month-on-month growth after making a loss in September. In terms of cash the profit of £172.73 makes October my profitable month so far, just edging out the £168.71 gain made back in April.
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
August..........£562.23.......to.......£683.99........+22% growth
September....£683.99.......to.......£630.50...........-8% fall
October........£630.50.......to.......£803.23........+27% growth
Closing Balance £812.23
Up £9.00 today
All I entered today was one DYM, due to a lack of time I took a day off MTTs. I was happy to cash with an 88 />A6s blind vs blind aipf hold when blinds had reached 600/300 after a lengthy bubble.
I received an e-mail offer from Sky Poker today offering a deposit match bonus. The rules of this challenge do not permit deposits, so I won't be taking Sky up on their offer.
November Poker Points 10
Today’s result;
8522879 H NL 6MX,DN 1.0 GBP SkyPoker 01/11/2013 12:02 NL Hold'em £10 + £1 1/6 £9
My standard shove ends the DYM.
PlayerActionCardsAmountPotBalanceGaryQQQ Small blind 300.00 300.00 3240.00 * Big blind 600.00 900.00 1955.00 Your hole cards 8 8 CHILLIE Fold TheGreeko Fold GaryQQQ All-in 3240.00 4140.00 0.00 * All-in 1955.00 6095.00 0.00 GaryQQQ Unmatched bet 985.00 5110.00 985.00 GaryQQQ Show 8 8 * Show 6 A Flop 10 3 9 Turn 8 River 9 GaryQQQ Win Full House, 8s and 9s 5110.00 6095.00
Closing Balance £800.04
Down £12.19 today
Not my day in MTTs, I bricked all I entered. Fields were soft, there were many weekend gamblers and calling stations at my tables. Unfortunately I didn't make the hands or holds necessary to capitalise. I'm happy with my play so cool with results win or lose.
The biggest annoyance of the day was self-inflicted. While playing a hand I managed to mis-click in the lobby and buy into the wrong MTT; an £11 Bounty Hunter in which only 70% of the field were still alive. I'd meant to enter into a £5.75 that was about to start. As I've explained here before I have a policy of never late-registering into bounty tournaments. I kept my cool and decided to play them both, though to no avail. Although I was taken out by a beat in a great spot it still feels like I squandered the £11.
I was tempted to have a crack at the UKOPS Mini Rebuy in the evening. I'm sufficiently rolled to afford the buy-in with an instant re-buy and add-on. However the rebuys mean deep stacks and I don't expect that tournament to finish until at least 2-30am. Seeing as I've been up since 1-15am I decided against it in the end. In the unlikely event of a deep run I'd probably either doze off during play or lose patience due to tiredness and donk off my stack.
In STTs I fared a bit better, winning back enough in DYMs and HU matches to keep me just the right side of the £800 mark.
November Poker Points 72
Today’s results;
Day 226 use to copy/paste results 8528357 H NL 6MX,DN 0.5 GBP SkyPoker 02/11/2013 20:08 NL Hold'em £5 + £0.5 1/6 £4.5 8528009 H NL HU 0.1 GBP SkyPoker 02/11/2013 19:58 NL Hold'em £2 + £0.1 1/2 £1.9 8528195 H NL 6MX,DN 0.3 GBP SkyPoker 02/11/2013 19:37 NL Hold'em £3 + £0.3 1/6 £2.7 8526318 H NL B 0.3 GBP SkyPoker 02/11/2013 18:00 NL Hold'em £2 + £0.3 144/173 -£2.3 8527940 H NL T,HU 0.05 GBP SkyPoker 02/11/2013 17:49 NL Hold'em £1 + £0.05 1/2 £0.95 8527879 H NL 6MX,DN 1.0 GBP SkyPoker 02/11/2013 17:43 NL Hold'em £10 + £1 1/6 £9 8526070 H NL B 0.75 GBP SkyPoker <span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,Sans-Serif;line-heighClosing Balance £795.21
Down £4.83 today
I entered the two morning £3.30 Bounty Hunters and a DYM today. Played awfully in all three and fully deserved to lose. I held the chiplead in the 9-45am Bounty Hunter for an hour, then donked it off when I got card-dead and bored. My own blow-up tilted me so I then gambled recklessly in the other two games too.
I'm embarrassed by my play today, anybody at my tables would have thought I was a reckless idiot. I wasn't in the mood, shouldn't have played.
Edit; I played in the Free cash Freeroll at 6-30pm finishing 48/1500 for a cash of £2.48. The current balance has been adjusted accordingly.
November Poker Points 83
Today’s results;
8530284 H NL 6MX,DN 0.5 GBP SkyPoker 03/11/2013 11:47 NL Hold'em £5 + £0.5 6/6 -£5.5 8528683 H NL B 0.3 GBP SkyPoker 03/11/2013 10:45 NL Hold'em £3 + £0.3 53/85 -£3.3 8528372 H NL B 0.3 GBP SkyPoker 03/11/2013 09:45 NL Hold'em £3 + £0.3 38/93 £1.49
Going really well and looks like this will be tied up before Christmas. I wonder what next years challenge will be
Did you ever play bigger games before your challenges over the last couple of years?
At the moment I'm not intending to do another BR challenge next year. I'll only do one if I can think of something new/original, I have nothing in mind at the moment and I won't be giving it any thought until this one is completed. I'd want a rest of at least 3 months between challenges.
No, I've always been a low stakes recreational player. Sky is my main site, at the times when I can play (late morning, early afternoon) no big games run. I cannot play in the evening when most of the action occurs so I've never played in a UKOPS event. When I have a week off work I usually go off and do other stuff and take a break from poker. I find cash poker boring so only play STT/MTTs.
The biggest online tournament I ever played in was a $330 freezeout on another site that I satellited into for $1.10. It was good fun , there were several well known internet pros in the field including Mickey Petersen who was at my table throughout. I busted in 29th in a standard flip with 21 to be paid. Had the flip gone my way I'd have been above average and able to fold my way into a $720 min-cash if I wanted.
Playing 1 £5.50 BH to win £12 or playing a 3 satilites into much bigger tourneys, surely the sats are better use of your BR?
If you use some of your BR to try to bink seat into higher paying tourney and the bink the tourney you will blow your targets through the roof? Enter 10 sats and play nitty enough you'll get a seat in maybe 3 or 4, You should min cash at least once, but have the potential to get a really good cash.....