It would seem that I am not the only one struggling this week and I have been stunned, absolutely stunned by some things that I have seen. I was not going to post an update until next week but I need to at least have a little vent just to clear my head and put things into perspective again. Yes this can be thought of as a complete whinge or bad beat post but I'll try to keep it limited and mix it up with some stuff that I have learnt also.
So, last night
- 2nd biggest stack 5 left. Pocket KK board KT2 short stack all in. Call they have AA, turn comes 4, river A.
- Some game about 10 hands later pocket AA, flop 8Q6 push all-in called chip leader with KK, turn Q, river K gone. Finished 4th
- Next game, low stack me v chip leader pocket KTs, board T27 rainbow, I bet about 1/2 my chips they go all-in. They called my pre-flop raise...hhmm. Called, they have AKos, so nothing at this stage, they need their A, the turn is a K that is fine, river A. Now I am not that annoyed as this happens, but it was rubbed in my face the next game I played in as pretty much the exact opposite happened. Low stack KT v AK all in low stack hits KT on turn and river. I just saw there stunned. I didn't need to see that. Finished 4th
- About average chips, 5 left. Short stack has 300 and blinds are 50/100. He goes all-in 6 times and was called each time and won every one of them. He would have Q5os and win, 44 v JJ and hit the 4 on the turn and win. Stunned again. I wait get eaten a bit by blinds, down to 4 players. I get KQs pre-flop raise 4 x BB he calls, board of K5x he goes all in...now I've been watching this guy pull stuff out of his arse all game he has all-ined his way to 2nd chip lead...I call. My KQ v 5T of course...he gets his 5 on the river....I think it was the loudest "Fuck Off" that has ever come out of my mouth. Finished 4th...seeing a trend here yet?
- Right one more game tonight...actually played well and get to 2nd chip lead with 4 left pocket KK v A4os all in against low stack and knock him out. Yay, finally...relief sets in...gee the chip leader is taking time to call the next hand...hang on...hang on...panic..fuck it my internet connection is done. Is it? What is this on Poker Stars "The SnG server will be shut down for maintenance for
A very frustrating night.
I have been reading quite a lot, some books and a quite a few blogs, mostly those on the right side just over there. Good reads. Sherwood has been going through some similar pain, albeit at a much higher level. I can at last sympathise. I've purchased Poker Tracker, lovely great insight into the way you play the game. I have noticed a trend I get into a very good position early in the low level blinds and then struggle once they get to 50/100, hence my overall average of 4th! It does not feel as though I am changing the way I play when the blinds go up so will have to look closely and see what is going on there. A great feature being able to watch any hand back and see mistakes how it played out etc. Millions of features a must have.
I read recently about acting and get people to help you build your stack. I have gotten into a routine that when I am betting I do it quite quickly, if I have top pair on flop no straight or flush draws get that 4 x BB bet in quick. They call, if I still think I have the best had, or at least a very good one, repeat above. ( I am really trying to win on flop or turn which has seen a massive increase of hands won without a showdown - sometimes with nothing and the bet forces people out.) What is great is that a few times I have hit a full house on the river and really slowed it down, as though I am thinking. I will bet 5-6x BB sometimes they call (then muck!) other times they go all-in and I call and knock them out. Previously I would have just bet again straight away. Making them think I am stealing etc is gold and worked well. Now if I can just stop some of my tilts.
So New Years tomorrow, I am heading to a very nice restaurant on
The joy of my first SnG win has been mellowed somewhat by a bit of a bad run of late. Quickly for the week I am up a massive $4.87, which I guess I should be happy about. I am however quite annoyed with myself as I have recently dropped back into bad old playing habits. Playing that K8o just to 'have a go' and getting annoyed when losing to a flop of 8Ax..duh. So when I lose $500 on a SnG playing this hand I'm not exactly setting myself up for success.
I also went away from playing mainly SnGs late in the last week playing 4 low limit Tournaments, the result of which is down -$10.18 the main source of my frustration. While I did enjoy these going deep in two, collecting in one and busting out just before 2nd break ($10K Guaranteed) where my AA all-in low stack was busted by JJ (flopped QJT), I need to limit these games to no more then two in any given week and concentrate on the SnG's building the bank and climbing the levels in this format. For the week I played 7 SnGs for a net profit of $15.50 or 40% return, and in the money 57% of the time. My 7 SnG results:
1 = 1
2 = 1
3 = 2
4 = 2
5 = 0
6 = 0
7 = 1
8 = 0
9 = 0
So we can see where I should be concentrating my efforts.
I will also fall very short of the my $500 profit goal for December, unless I final table a tournament this week, not dejected, I will press ahead still shooting for the $10K 2006 goal.
I am currently on this weird Wednesday - Tuesday week, so this week will be a short week, Wed-Sun so that I can get onto a Monday - Sunday week just to keep things neat. There probably won't be a lot of play this week, will spend some time reading and getting my mind back into playing correctly, plus I am also away this weekend for New Years which I am looking forward to. Dinner down at King St Warf in Sydney which will be great to be in town and on the water, then up to my girlfriend parents place for a late Christmas.
Just briefly a shout out to Will Wonka and Rob at Sherwood Poker for their support. Going to keep at this game as while I find it often frustrating it is very enjoyable and entirely intriguing
Well remember where you are currently reading this as I bring you great news I've just had my first SnG win $5.50 on Poker Stars. You were right Will Wonka it did not take long. I really do have to thank you and some other bloggers especially about tight agressive play as this has been key to an improvement.
I have seen an increase in pots won without a showdown from about 5% to 12%. I have also looked to get a better understanding of where exactly my hand stands in the scheme of things. For instance if I am on the button, we are post flop and first bets $50 and 3 other simply call, I've raised to $100 (these are SnG remember) people have been calling or simply folding. This gives a better indication of what is out there and how strong my hand is. Fair enough someone may raise back over me which is fine as I can now fold if I know I am beat...there has been some frustration at times though when I didn't know I was beat..damn those 4ths!
When we got head to head in this I was 3-1 down in chips, but managed to get my share of blinds and post flop bets away and played well to get into the lead. Caught him bluffing AQo v my K8 with 2K8 on the board for a $7k swing.
Anyway...enjoy this nice pic of my first win. Merry festive, non specific religous holiday season all. ¶ Thursday, December 22, 2005 2 comments
As a summary of the last week for a total of 25 $5.50 Sit and Goes...
1 = 0
2 = 5
3 = 4
4 = 5
5 = 3
6 = 4
7 = 0
8 = 0
9 = 2
10 = 2
In the money 36% of the time. Still looking for my first win which I hope is not to far away, I'll be sure to post a lovely pic of the moment for you all to share. The bad news is that I have moved away from my goal of $500 profit for the month of December, sitting at a loss of $31.50. All bad?...not quite, as since my swtich to Poker Stars and actually concentrating on the game I am up a handy $9.50, with a recent run of 4ths and 5ths taking $20 odd from that.
If we just look at my Poker Stars results as a summary for 13 $5.50 Sit and Goes...
1 = 0
2 = 4
3= 3
4 = 3
5 = 2
6 = 0
7= 0
8= 0
9= 1
In the money 53% of the time. While there is no win there, it at least certainly looks a lot better. Don't get me wrong I think that Poker Room is a great site, there is nothing sus going on there. I justed wanted to try a new site and see what some others have to offer. I played exlusively on Poker Room, but now I have looked at Poker Stars, Party Poker and Full Tilt Poker. I really enjoy Full Tilt Poker and will be playing there a lot more in the future.
Otherwise just a dabble in a $3.30 tourney and a $5.50 tourney is the only other action to speak of, busting out early in both.
In terms of analysing my play, I can see what a fish I am being gobbled up by the better players, especially when it comes to the final three on a SnG. I still play the top 20-30 hands only and get sucked dry by the blinds, and have to rely on a nice hand to pull me back into the contest. As you can see, no wins yet, so will need to work on this side of my game a lot. Learning more short handed approaches to the game when I manage to get into this situation will help to get more wins.
Chat soon.
ilico ¶ Wednesday, December 21, 2005 1 comments
But I'm ok with that. I know that I am just at the beginning of my journey and have a lot to learn about this great game. The first is setting some goals that I would like to achieve. Like everything a goal gives you direction, something to aim for and satisfaction when you arrive. So here goes, these are my goals for the next 12 months:
- To Make $10K clear profit in next 12 months;
- Profit to $500 by end of December 05.
- Profit to $1500 be end of January 06.
- Profit to $5K by end of June 06
- Profit to $10K by end of December 06
- To make good game selections (no ring tables for me);
- Plan my Poker playing time so that I get the time to play and ensure that I track what I am doing, hand history etc so that I ensure I become a better player;
- Focus on Single Table tournaments (Sit and Goes) as my main source of income, playing minimum 30-40 games a week;
- Move from current $5.00 + $0.50 SnG's to $100+$9.00 SnGs
- Read at least 3 books on Poker play;
- To qualify for a large(ish) game such as $100K guarantee; and
- To actually play a live game.
I'll let you know how the rest of the week pans out. Planning on a few STT tonight, nothing Thursday, some solid action Friday and Saturday. ¶ Wednesday, December 14, 2005 1 comments
Started off just getting back into some play money games to get some feel back and was very rusty, even in play money games. I took the plunge and started a few tournys not doing well only getting to the first break and bombing out. So I took a step back and started on the sit and goe $5.00 +$0.50 10 playaer max table and decided to go back to basics, but aggressive when the opportunity arose to knock players out. This worked well winning the first two tables I entered. I started a 3rd, and probably should not have as it was late. It also didn't help that these guys were all very conservative - I ended up just getting bored and went all in for a flush draw against a pair of As, didn't get it but and was quickly in bed.
Will be online again tonight playing sit and go $5.00 + $0.50, will start to build a bank roll...see you at the final table. ¶ Tuesday, December 13, 2005 0 comments
