Uninspired & uninterested = unsuccessful

I haven't blogged for a while because I have nothing to blog about! I just can't get into my poker right now!

I am still playing on line regularly but not with any conviction. I have no challenge, no drive and no notable success.

Perhaps its just life! I am more interested at the moment on living rather than sitting in front of my pc screen to make a few (and I mean a few) quid.

I need to set some goals ... need a challenge ... and most of all I need to set aside some time.

Perhaps I will join the 2+2 forum and see if I can find some inspiration there.

With regards to my online poker results I am still holding my balance from nothing at $134 and slowly improving.

My live poker balance sits at £361 but I haven't played live in about 2 months.

So until next time ... when hopefully I will have re found my Mojo!

Keep it Tight!

Now I don't generally go with conspiracies ...

I am in a world of on line poker pain and confusion ....

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I go through times of really wanting to play on line ... and then I sit down to play and all of the passion just leaves me!

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It can take just one "On Line" hand for me to lose all confidence in it again.

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Tonight it was holding TT against AJ pre flop ... and the board runs 45678 to split the pot ... ( I switch off) ... makes a change to the A on the river I suppose.

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At the weekend it was running deep in a tourney until that guy hits his 2 outer to knock my short stack out for a min cash ... (I switch off) ... it happens oh so (too) regularly!

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Now I don't generally go with conspiracies ...

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In my (approx) 10 years of online poker I have played thousands of games, nay, hundreds of thousands on over 30 different poker sites. In that time I have seen massively varying results from my style of play on different sites, so much so that there is one particular network I will not play on because I cannot turn a profit ...! Is it coincidence that most of the brands using that network consistently offer the best bonuses?

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How can my results on this network be SO consistently poor?

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Can it really be that all of the tens of thousands of players across all of the different providers on that network have a different style of game that beats mine?

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I often hear "its because you play so many hands that you only remember the bad results" or "its variance". Well I have played hundreds of Double up SnGs month after month in the past and the spots in which I get my chips in (or not) are very similar ... I know the expectation for my play.

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So is this sour grapes from a bad run of form?

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I don't think so ... In fact I don't think I have had a losing year besides my first year of playing.

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My graph below shows the first two months results on my Zero to What? challenge brought on by my lack of confidence in on line poker.

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So why this sudden change of heart?

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Well to be honest I have always thought that on line play is a bit different to a real pack of shuffled cards, I have just tried to repeat the multitude of different mantras supporting it ...

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... "What would the poker sites gain from fixing?"

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... "You are just having a bad run"

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... "Just because you are ahead it doesn't mean you will win the hand"

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... and of course I wouldn't want to be subject to the bad press you receive from even suggesting that On Line Poker might not be right.

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But would I really be out of line for suggesting that? Am I really out of order for thinking that the operators of poker sites could be so unscrupulous as to take a bit more juice from their customers? I think recent events in the On Line poker world have answered that!

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But what has really got me going is that I am convinced that the graph above has not been achieved by good poker play ...

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Now I am not on a crusade to try and put people off on line poker and it is not as a fight back to any particular site. I also know there are people out there who have played far more on line than I have and are happy with the results.

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However whilst I am thinking like this I can't put in a stake of value on line, regardless of the prize ...

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Am I talking rubbish? ... that is for you to decide!

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Until Next Time

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Keep it Tight!

Losing Love for the Game?

I don't know what it is recently but I can't seem to get myself up to play online poker:

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Is it all the downs personal life dealt me last year that got me out of the habit of playing?

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Am I just tired of players holding onto J5 on a J high flop until they hit their set on the river to beat my AA?

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Have the bonuses dried up that used to turn me from a marginal winning player to a quite profitable player?

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Whatever it is Online Poker is just not the same as it was to me over a year ago.

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Is OnLine Poker in Trouble?

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Daniel Negranaeu, in Poker Player Magazine, spoke about poker being in trouble because there are no real characters coming through the new game.

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I think it is in trouble for different reason - a high percentage of players are now better!

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Heres my theory:

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When a player is far better than their opponents the skill difference is very apparent and the effect of this skills gulf is mostly measurable (probably solely) on their results. Luck does still play a part but overall the difference in skill will win out in the end.

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When players' skill levels are more evenly matched the skill level plays less of a role in results and the winning player is more likely going to be the one who is luckiest. To me this doesn't matter if it is equal skill at a low level or at the highest level. At whatever level it becomes more difficult to measure your success because you can't (or don't want to) measure the amount of good or bad luck you have.

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My second point here is where I think online poker is at now. At all levels players appear to have a good grasp of the basics of the game and in most cases are educated to the more advanced plays.

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How it used to be:

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Of course the player holding onto his J5 in my opening to this post is exactly what you want to have happen, but these players are fewer and far between (perhaps one to a table). When there used to be 4 or 5 of these to a table you were likely to get those chips back 3-4 times faster than is likely today.

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Consequently you reward to time ratio is watered down and your overall ROI is reduced ... and thats just to the few players you are better than!

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Add to this mix the fact that tracker software has levelled the playing field even further and it becomes very difficult to make a meaningful profit.

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This is probably the real reason why I have lost the drive for online poker.

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So what are my plans for online poker?

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Well I think it is going to become mainly recreational whilst I continue to try and make something happen at the live game. I am not going to sit and grind for hours and hours, I am not going to attemp to hit the leaderboards, I am going to play when I feel like it.

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So, unless something in my Psyche changes, I am going to try and play the bankroll build game until the end of the year.

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I am starting at the lowest SnG, cash and multi tourney buy in levels ...

I am starting my records from $0 dollar ....

I will play freerolls and bonus tournaments ...

and I will see how much I have won or lost by christmas.

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When my balance is at at appropriate levels I will be using the following rules for buy ins:

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5% of bankroll for SnG

2% of bank roll for cash games

1 % of bank roll for Multi Tournaments

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Any profit I have at the end of December will then be spent on live poker for 2013.

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If I lose on the year it could well be spelling the end of my online poker exploits.

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So until my next update

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Keep it Tight!

Harder than it looks

A quick post by way of an update.

Well the idea was to build my live bankroll and climb up the qualtiy of tournaments to test out my poker skills and possibly hit a bigger win.

This is proving more difficult than I thought and I still haven't left the tables of my local casino yet.

So far I am only playing live once a week, so I haven't really got a decent sample of results to say whether I am going to fail or succeed.

Here are my results so far:

Multi Tourneys (40 players or more)

Played 7
Final Tabled 4
Cashed 2
Won 0

Buy Ins (incl. rake) £261

Profit / loss -£161

I feel that just one win or high position cash will set me off. It will certainly put me in profit. I like to think I am holding my own, and the fact that I can top up my live balance from other winnings will give me plenty of time.

Whats important is that I am really enjoying live play (albeit sometimes I wish I'd invested in a decent set of headphones to block out distractions).

So until next time

Keep it Tight!

When the odds were not in my cards or in the pot

Date : 26/9/11

Location : Gala Casino Leicester

Tournament : £10 NLH, 1 rebuy and 1 add on

Situation : Bubble - next prize pays £70

Players : 6

Blinds : 3000/6000 a400

Position : BB

Chips before the hand started : 10,600-

Setup:-

"I post the big blind, 2nd to act calls, Button calls, SB all in for about 20K more. I have 77 ....... after thinking for a while I fold!"-

Thoughts at the time:-

The first thing that happened after I folded was that one of the players who wasn't in the pot berates me for folding stating " you only have 4000 left, you have to call with any 2 cards, you have pot odds"-

That was my initial thought even before I was dealt my cards ... so what changed!-

My thoughts at the time of folding included:-

1. With 2 players to act after me and with my chips added to the pot they will be priced in to call (first to act had approx 50 - 70K in chips and the button had approx 150 - 200K in chips). 77 is not going to perform well in a 4 way pot.-

2. I have sat for over 5 hours and am trying to build a bank roll, there is no cash game to go to, that's it for the night ... any return is better than none.-

3. My chance to win the tournament is not greatly improved, even if I win this pot as I will still only have around 40K with a round of betting costing 11.5K and SB to be posted next.-

4. I think I have a better chance of cashing if one or both of the other players still to act calls the all in and knocks him out than I have playing my hand.-

Post Tournaments Analysis:-

Before I give the outcome of the hand, I have taken a look at my "all in" odds for 77 in this situation given the hands I thought I may be up against (using PokerStove).-

Caller 1 : small pockets and TJ-KQ (15%)-

Caller 2 : AT - A2 and suited/off suit connectors (17%)-

AI Raiser : JJ+ (50%)-

Me : 77 (16%)-

2% a hand tie.-

In fact I only really gave thought to the first two in the pot as to whether they would be likely to call or not, because my main concern was the ALL IN from a tight player in a position where he could let me take on 2 opponents to get him in the money.-

I thought that at least one of the players still to act behind me would call on the hand ranges I had given them at least 50% of the time, better odds than I was likely to be facing if I went all in.

I also figured that if one or both did call then there was at least a 30% that they could win the hand, better than the odds I had heads up.-

Anyway I delayed and tried to get a read as to whether there would be a caller behind and my gut told me there would be so I folded.-

Caller 1 folded and caller 2 debated, asked the ALL IN if he wanted a call ... the answer was yes ... and he called.-

AI shows 99 and Caller 2 Shows ATos.-

An ace and a ten on the flop seal the hand for him and for me to cash in 5th place at the expense of someone else's misfortune.-

I know it is debatable as to whether I should have folded because if the AI hand had held up then I would have been all in next hand anyway. However I was clear before I folded why I was doing it; I was resigned that the tournament was over for me and I wanted to give myself the best chance at cashing. -

I would appreciate any thoughts!-

If this was a 10K buy in event that I had qualified for online and this had happened ... I would be ecstatic with the outcome.-

Anyway my live poker bank roll now sits at £340'ish pounds and stays strong for a few more buy ins to try and hit a bigger cash.-

Until next time-

Keep it Tight!

I really can't believe it!

I have just finished at the Truro, Victoria Inn Pub Poker League ... and have won again!

I have played 4 times here .. Now won 3 times and 4th in the other, I think thats good stats against anyone holding 2 cards.

I also find out tonight that they have a league yearly winner where the champion gets a nice trophy and the top 6 get to play off for a tournament in France ... unfortunately me playing one week a month cannot ever win that.

Tonight it was a £5 buy in, there were only 17 players and it paid top 3 - £50, £25 and £10

Anyway, as always I was pretty quiet in the early rounds and kept just above average. There was a maniac player with chips who was taking on every raise of mine which made me cautious.

When there were about 10 left I got back to back Aces at blinds of 300 / 600 and only managed to extract about 3K from those hands, mainly because I was playing very fast to deter the maniac from playing any 2 cards and out drawing me.

Anyway the maniac went out on the bubble and I was left the small stack. The player to my left was quite passive but did seem to change gears by raising more, just with the wrong hands at the wrong time. I made most of my comeback chips from him!

My heads up opponent ended up taking him out.

Heads up lasted quite a few hands and we agreed to take £30 each and play for the last £15. With the blinds at 5K/10K -about 107K in chips on the table. The final hand came when I limped in the SB, he raised all in for about 35K total . I could call and still leave about 40K behind with 79spades. I called and he showed Q8os. A Q on the flop gave us both the obvious emotions, but the other two cards got me a straight redraw ... and I filled my straight on the river.

So a few more winnings again to add to a very small cash table win at the Gala last week (£3) my live bank roll sits at £193.

Just a quick note on my live bank roll ... I will be adding a small amount from other gambling funds every month ... so I expect to still be able to play live poker if my current bank roll falls back to zero.

So onwards and upwards with my bid to play some bigger buy in tournaments ... but for now I remain a Poker Wannabe.

Until Next Time

Keep It Tight!

Live Poker Interesting Exit Hand

I eventually got to start my "serious" live poker playing at the Gala in Leicester ..

The tournament was a £10 NLH, two rebuy or one rebuy and one add on or 2 add on at the break; basically you can buy in 3 times by the break if needed.

I played quite well starting on table one, had a good handle on all of the players and was just starting to get going before the break. Mainly this was thanks to winning a big pot from the person who I thought was the most threat to the table when his KK ran into my AA, all but knocking him out of the tourney. Also another key hand I made a good call with an A on the board holding JJ when an opponent had a pair of tens and had represented the A.

I hadn't had a rebuy by the break so took my 2 add ons to keep my chip count above average.

Shortly after the break I was moved to another table which seemed to have most of the chips, and most of the best players. I got cut off quickly by one particular regular who I read a few times as being very strong (given the body language). The biggest lay down being my flopped 2 pair against his all in shove following my flop lead out. I read him for a set and after he told me he had a set .. but then he would wouldn't he?

I will be watching him next time to see if it is just me he is having a go at and may just call light once to see what he's up to in the future.

So it then took ages to reach the final table from about 16 left (54 started and paying 6), in that time I lost about 11K of my 50K stack. Then just before the final table assembled I had a go at the player on my right who had limped in the SB first to act. Admittedly I had AJ but a big raise did not see him off and my all in on the flop saw him call with an open ended straight draw on a low board holding 78. My A high held and I went to the final table with about 89,000 chips.

After a couple of rounds on the final table we were down to 7 and the blinds and antes were so high that every ones stack had seemed to even out except for 2 smaller stacks who would soon be in by the blinds.

I suggested we did a bubble saver for 7th place, and it was agreed that the bubble would get their £30 buy in back.

So it was when it folded to me in the SB that I completed with my 9Jos and the BB checked.
The flop came 89Thh. I bet about 16K into a 11,600K pot and got re raised all in (by a different player to before). I still had about 30K behind but chose to call with my open ender bottom pair, he had 89 for two pair. The turn came a 9 and I was out to a full house.

I have replayed this hand a few times in my mind and will probably post the hand on a forum to get some differing views mainly to answer the following questions:

1. Should I limp in the SB? ... the blinds were 2,000 / 4,000 with 800 Ante 7 players. The pot was reasonably big for my 2,000. I didn't want to commit my stack with a raise holding J9. I felt any re raise would be a real hand and I could drop it there and then just limping ....

2. Should I lead with mid pair on the flop? .. I think so given my redraw chances and the size of the blinds.

3. Should my lead have been so big? I wanted to win it there and then scaring away any hearts. I had already committed myself to winning this pot given the action so far, so I think the size of my bet reflected that I was going all in before my bet, it just happened that he'd hit 2 pair.

4. Should I have folded after his re shove? Looking back I had about 30K left and about a 45% chance, certainly getting pot odds. However I was through the blinds so I could have folded, if only to get a couple more places up the prize money. On the other hand by outdrawing in this position I would have had a very good chance of winning the tourney.

5. Given the turn card any play after the flop was to go all in with my set .. the only possible ways out would have been to fold pre flop, raise pre flop (if he would have folded) or fold on the flop following his shove.

I am still not sure what lesson I have learnt yet other than setting up a bubble saver was worth while ... it could just be one of those hands although I did make my actions under definite reasoning at the time.

Any way I was only 6 hours out of time as I got my buy in back and loved every minute of the game.

So now waiting for the next time to build my live bank roll.

Until Next Time

Keep it Tight!