WSOP near miss!

For anyone whos been reading my Twitter you will know that I have been trying to qualify for the WSOP via Pokerlistings on Bet 365.

I earnt enough points to first enter a 34 player sub qualifier : 1-6 won a super satelite $500 ticket, 7-12 won a $215 WSOP Main event rebuy ticket.

Well in that one I won the $215 rebuy ticket.

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I then also got enough points to enter me for a 34 player freezout winner takes all main event qualifier - this was to be my best chance?

As it happens I went out of the freezout in 14th after a really uneventful tourney.

The rebuy was to be my chance ... 39 entrants ... winner takes all $20,000 package.

I wasn't going to rebuy (at a further $215) and I wasn't going to add on (at a further $100). But patience is my game.

After 3 hours of play there were about 18 left ... and I was the short stack.

However I do think my strongest point is short stack play!!!

Somehow I managed to get myself to the final table with 5 left and the position you see in the picture below as NoEi8ht (I can't even remember how I got there!).

5 left and I have a great image, everyone believes I have it when I bet ... so I bet!

Short handed I obviously open up my range, and for a start they still believe me, then I get the pre flop 3 bet, and I fold (mistake number 1).

It happens again (mistake number 2) and suddenly I go from being a bet dominator to a bet foldinator. With no cards, i am a lost soul on the poker table.

However I then end up getting a JJ and an AA to take me to second in chips with 3 left. At this point, after about 5 hours of play I can hear those Vegas bandits a jingling.

With the big hands and my image restored I manage to play the chip leader d0dd087 off of a couple of pots without having to worry about ZZ1000 who was being really tight passive ... d0dd was my target and if I beat him I have the Vegas prize. On the button he raised any 2 cards, consistently. On this occasion he raised a little bit bigger which made me think midish pair ... ZZ folded and I sit with A5spades. I thought about folding then called thinking that there are going to be plenty of cards to scare him with my read. The flop paired J77 - no spades. First to act I checked and he continued with a 1/3 pot bet ... I thought for a while and check raised ... (mistake number 3 ... I have little to no outs, just a complete bluff), he called. Turn brought a card that meant nothing. I half pot bet ... (mistake number 4, I have completely nothing with little or no outs) he thinks then over the tops all in ... I have to fold (his mid pair would be good at this point!) preserving about 25,000 in chips.

So my whole tournament hinged on getting too deep with a bluff ... poor play.

The coup de gras that saw me going out 3rd was when d0dd rarely folded the button and ZZ went all in on the SB - desperate I call with 9Tos.

Flop 289 ... turn blank river 8 - he holds A8 - Boom! Gone as was my Vegas dream!

Third was not too bad was it in a rebuy and add on with just my starting chips ... ?

I am sorry I didn't win but I can however take away some plus points from this:

... I don't think these players were muppets and I held my own.

... Don't get involved in a hand with a complete bluff unless you have to!

... It makes me want to qualify for something big!

Soon people I will do something big .... SOON!

Until Next time

Keep it Tight!

WSOP Qualifier ticket

Just finished a WSOP Sub Qualifier on Bet 365 and won a $215 ticket to their rebuy satelite ($13,000 WSOP Main Event Package).

This will probably be my best chance at a shot of getting to the WSOP although I should have a ticket to a winner takes all $20K WSOP package on the 15th June.

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Playing as "NoEi8ht" on Bet 365

Anyway fingers crossed.

Until Next Time

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Keep it Tight!

Love it or Hate it?

Imagine Phil Helmuth as a jar of Marmite ... what side do you think his peers come down on!

This is a preview from the Pokerstars.net Big Game to be aired on June 14th.

I personally like marmite!

Until Next Time

Keep it Tight!

Those Eureka Moments

Unlike the Ancient Greek Mathematician my breakthrough didn't occur to me in the bath. It occurred to me at my Poker Laptop, playing a 10 man STT Turbo tournament with Poker Stove by my side.

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Until recently I didn't realise how stale my game had gotten. Playing the same hands the same way. This was even more evident due to the fact that I was in a turbo tournament (something I do not usually play).

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In these tournaments you obviously can't sit and wait for a hand, you have to get some chips quick - SO HOW?

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Well I realise now that you have to use position, hand strength and a knowledge of the opponent.

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Nothing different here than to a normal tournament then eh?

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Of course not:

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I know how to play different opponents ...

I know where the strongest positions to play from are ...

... and I know what the strongest hands to play are!

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What I didn't know however was the strength of hands in position against the right opponent.

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Not making much sense am I ... what do you expect! Archimedes was a genius with total command over complex mathematical equations. I however only have a rudimentary command over the written word!

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All I can say is I need to do some more poker study with the great poker tool that can be found at www.pokerstove.com.

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I'm sure most who read a poker blog can:

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Calculate their number of outs

Calculate their pot odds

Calculate their implied odds

Make a few moves (squeeze plays, stop and goes etc)

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But do we all understand the percentage chance of any particular hand winning in any situation? I certainly do not!

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So with Poker Stove you can put in your starting hand and the hand you think your opponents may have and Poker Stove will calculate your percentage chance of not losing.

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It isn't automated, and will not give you live information on what you should do in any given situation ...

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... but it will help you predict outcomes and aid analysing past hands.

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I feel it is going to help take me (with a lot of hard work) on to the next level of my poker game.

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I strongly suggest you download this free piece of software and give it a whirl ...

... just don't learn to much from it if you are going to sit at my tables!

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Until Next Time

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Keep it Tight