Good ideas are a dime a dozen, bad ones are free. – Douglas Horton
I do not usually play freerolls. The fields are simply too large, the time needed is too long, and the play is usually horrendous. However, the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker is no ordinary freeroll. The bragging rights alone would be worth the win. Sadly, I fared about the same as I usually do in really big fields. I waste a few hours playing well only to get busted out of the money. Here are some of the gory details:
2nd orbit I get 2 black Kings in the BB – everyone folds to me before I can even bet.
3rd orbit 2 red Kings in the CO – I bet 3xbb – everyone folds.
I get J-J, open bet and get called. Flop is all undercards and I shove all in, get called and I double up when his draw doesn’t get there.
A-A in MP and open bet 3xbb but everyone folds!
Finally, some action - I flop a flush draw with Jh-10h and make it on turn. I am up to t5210.
4-4 holds up and I am at t5945 as we go to the first break.
I got a couple of suited Aces(A-Js and A-9s), open bet got called, missed flop, made C-bet and won pot.
“Sitter Outers” are dying off quickly now, I am at t6045.
I make it to the second break but, at t3915 and below average, it’s shove or fold time.
M = 6 and I get Q-Q in MP. I shove and get no action.
M = 3 and I get A-Jo so I shove. Get called by 5-5 and I don’t improve.
I am out in 240th. (Sigh), maybe next year.
Notables seen included: MemphisMOJO, TanOrpheus, Rakewell1, Fuel55, Lightning36.
Showing posts with label Blogger Tournaments. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blogger Tournaments. Show all posts
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Friday, December 19, 2008
World Blogger Championship of Online Poker NLHE - 12-16-08
The ultimate victory in competition is derived from the inner satisfaction of knowing that you have done your best and that you have gotten the most out of what you had to give. – Howard Cosell
Although my tournament game is certainly not on par with my cash game, I rushed home to sign up. I got that done and began to discharge some of my usual familial responsibilities. The idea of me playing poker early in the evening while the boys were still active was already not sitting well with my wife and the tourney had not even begun. In jest, I assured her a sizable cut of the potential winnings if I were to be so fortunate. She was unmoved by my generosity.
When the tournament finally began, I have to admit I was sort of excited.
I was dealt A-A utg in the first half hour but got no action. I had to fold 9-9, 10-10, and some other medium and/or small pairs due to the aggressive player seated behind me, Klagyi from Isaszeg. I was in seat 7 and he in seat 8. Seats 9, 1, and 2 were all sitting out so their blinds were constantly under attack and Klagyi, being in prime position, would often re-raise any raiser. Finally, I get involved in a big hand with Klagyi and another player while I hold A-8s on a board of J-9-x with one spade. The turn is the 10s giving me the nut flush draw and a non-nut str8t draw if a Q hits on the river. I bet and get re-raised all in – of course I have to call due to how much I already have in the pot. The river brings the Ks giving me the nuts and I triple through the table. Not much later, I get J-J (twice) in EP but get no action either time.
First Break! I check the tournament lobby for notables and see RakeWell among the top 50 or so. I am approximately 73 (of hundreds).
Following the first break, I get K-K, utg of course, and get no action. A new maniac gets moved to my table and he is supernova elite named Alphafoil from Valencia. The three players in the 9, 1, and 2 seats are still sitting out! So, Alpha, Klagyi, WMZeus, and I are constantly battling for their dead blinds and antes. 90+ minutes into the tourney, the sitters are finally eliminated. I am at T 6,620 and the average is T 5,156. I kept getting A-rag offsuit in EP and having to fold to late position raisers. Klagyi finally self destructs giving his chips to WMZeus from West Monroe. So far, I have played 15 of 179 hands and I am at 83 of 217 players remaining. Then, the first trouble hand occurs for me. I am dealt A-10s in EP and I foolishly decide to play it. After missing the Q high flop completely, I make a pot sized continuation bet only to be re-raised all in from Alphafoil. I had to fold since I probably had only three outs for my tournament life. That blunder cost me roughly half my chips and now, I am one of the short stacks at the table.
Second Break! I check the lobby and see the Memphis Mojo is doing well. He would go on to make the final table. Congrats to the Mojo!
Interestingly enough, I am still at the table I started at (#67).
I am down to T 3,500. Within a few rounds, I am dealt 7-7. I re-raise all in pre-flop hoping to take down the pot or at least isolate against one opponent. I get my wish. Only WMZeus calls and shows his K-K. I end up losing to set over set when my 7-7-7 goes down to his K-K-K and I am out in 120th place.
While I was disappointed not to make the final 72, I had a good time.
I have to give it to PokerStars, I loved the tournament structure and I saw some good solid poker from the other players at my table. It was nothing like the usual all in shove fest of other freerolls I have played in. All in all, a good experience and one I will participate in again.
Although my tournament game is certainly not on par with my cash game, I rushed home to sign up. I got that done and began to discharge some of my usual familial responsibilities. The idea of me playing poker early in the evening while the boys were still active was already not sitting well with my wife and the tourney had not even begun. In jest, I assured her a sizable cut of the potential winnings if I were to be so fortunate. She was unmoved by my generosity.
When the tournament finally began, I have to admit I was sort of excited.
I was dealt A-A utg in the first half hour but got no action. I had to fold 9-9, 10-10, and some other medium and/or small pairs due to the aggressive player seated behind me, Klagyi from Isaszeg. I was in seat 7 and he in seat 8. Seats 9, 1, and 2 were all sitting out so their blinds were constantly under attack and Klagyi, being in prime position, would often re-raise any raiser. Finally, I get involved in a big hand with Klagyi and another player while I hold A-8s on a board of J-9-x with one spade. The turn is the 10s giving me the nut flush draw and a non-nut str8t draw if a Q hits on the river. I bet and get re-raised all in – of course I have to call due to how much I already have in the pot. The river brings the Ks giving me the nuts and I triple through the table. Not much later, I get J-J (twice) in EP but get no action either time.
First Break! I check the tournament lobby for notables and see RakeWell among the top 50 or so. I am approximately 73 (of hundreds).
Following the first break, I get K-K, utg of course, and get no action. A new maniac gets moved to my table and he is supernova elite named Alphafoil from Valencia. The three players in the 9, 1, and 2 seats are still sitting out! So, Alpha, Klagyi, WMZeus, and I are constantly battling for their dead blinds and antes. 90+ minutes into the tourney, the sitters are finally eliminated. I am at T 6,620 and the average is T 5,156. I kept getting A-rag offsuit in EP and having to fold to late position raisers. Klagyi finally self destructs giving his chips to WMZeus from West Monroe. So far, I have played 15 of 179 hands and I am at 83 of 217 players remaining. Then, the first trouble hand occurs for me. I am dealt A-10s in EP and I foolishly decide to play it. After missing the Q high flop completely, I make a pot sized continuation bet only to be re-raised all in from Alphafoil. I had to fold since I probably had only three outs for my tournament life. That blunder cost me roughly half my chips and now, I am one of the short stacks at the table.
Second Break! I check the lobby and see the Memphis Mojo is doing well. He would go on to make the final table. Congrats to the Mojo!
Interestingly enough, I am still at the table I started at (#67).
I am down to T 3,500. Within a few rounds, I am dealt 7-7. I re-raise all in pre-flop hoping to take down the pot or at least isolate against one opponent. I get my wish. Only WMZeus calls and shows his K-K. I end up losing to set over set when my 7-7-7 goes down to his K-K-K and I am out in 120th place.
While I was disappointed not to make the final 72, I had a good time.
I have to give it to PokerStars, I loved the tournament structure and I saw some good solid poker from the other players at my table. It was nothing like the usual all in shove fest of other freerolls I have played in. All in all, a good experience and one I will participate in again.
Friday, November 21, 2008
BoDonkey II - The Donkey Hunt
There is no hunting like the hunting of man, and those who have hunted armed men long enough and liked it, never care for anything else thereafter. - Ernest Hemingway
I played the BoDonkey last night hoping to get a shot at the Sir Waffles bounty. However, even though I survived into the final 12 spots, I never even got to sit at the same table with the infamous (and elusive) Sir Waffles. I did get to play briefly with HighonPoker and $mokkee. I did not observe much bad play at all, in fact, I thought most of what I got to see was pretty good. There were some amazing suck outs and then even more amazing re-suck outs. The worst hand pre flop would out flop the better hand, then the best hand pre flop would re-suck out on the turn or river.
I never seemed to pick up any good hands. If I got a marginally playable hand, I was always out of position. If I was in position, all I ever got was complete garbage. On the rare occasion I got a pair or a big Ace, I did not get much action. The only exception was what would be my final hand of the tourney. I was short stacked and got A-7 soooooted so I shoved. Only NewinNov, the chip leader who was also in the big blind, called with his 5-8 offsuit. I flopped an Ace and figured I was good. But, of course, he picks up an inside straight draw on the turn and gets there on the river – knocking me out in 12th. That’s poker.
I played the BoDonkey last night hoping to get a shot at the Sir Waffles bounty. However, even though I survived into the final 12 spots, I never even got to sit at the same table with the infamous (and elusive) Sir Waffles. I did get to play briefly with HighonPoker and $mokkee. I did not observe much bad play at all, in fact, I thought most of what I got to see was pretty good. There were some amazing suck outs and then even more amazing re-suck outs. The worst hand pre flop would out flop the better hand, then the best hand pre flop would re-suck out on the turn or river.
I never seemed to pick up any good hands. If I got a marginally playable hand, I was always out of position. If I was in position, all I ever got was complete garbage. On the rare occasion I got a pair or a big Ace, I did not get much action. The only exception was what would be my final hand of the tourney. I was short stacked and got A-7 soooooted so I shoved. Only NewinNov, the chip leader who was also in the big blind, called with his 5-8 offsuit. I flopped an Ace and figured I was good. But, of course, he picks up an inside straight draw on the turn and gets there on the river – knocking me out in 12th. That’s poker.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Paradigm Shift - Enter Bodog Poker
A man must make his opportunity, as oft as find it. - Francis Bacon
I have long held a theory about online poker that a site with more players = a site with more bad players.
Party was the original site with a huge player base, lately is has been Stars. However, I recently heard a competing theory that is gaining traction in my mind. Under that model, the smaller sites attract more fish because the fishies go for the more favorable online poker deals offered by the smaller sites and they tend to think the bigger sites have more skilled players.
To gather more data, I am going fishing at Bodog. They have vastly improved their software and one can now multi-table. They have also renewed the Bodog Blogger Tournament series on Tuesday and Thursday nights, the BoDonkey II, which is a really great deal. The overlay is tasty and the players one gets to play with are one of a kind – Sir Waffles, etc. Blinders has written that their beginner sit and go’s are easy money and Smokkee has suggested the same about the cash tables. In short, there is no reason not to go play online poker at Bodog and that is what I intend to do. The blogger tourney is Tuesday evenings and I hope to see you there.
I have long held a theory about online poker that a site with more players = a site with more bad players.
Party was the original site with a huge player base, lately is has been Stars. However, I recently heard a competing theory that is gaining traction in my mind. Under that model, the smaller sites attract more fish because the fishies go for the more favorable online poker deals offered by the smaller sites and they tend to think the bigger sites have more skilled players.
To gather more data, I am going fishing at Bodog. They have vastly improved their software and one can now multi-table. They have also renewed the Bodog Blogger Tournament series on Tuesday and Thursday nights, the BoDonkey II, which is a really great deal. The overlay is tasty and the players one gets to play with are one of a kind – Sir Waffles, etc. Blinders has written that their beginner sit and go’s are easy money and Smokkee has suggested the same about the cash tables. In short, there is no reason not to go play online poker at Bodog and that is what I intend to do. The blogger tourney is Tuesday evenings and I hope to see you there.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
An Interesting Evening at the Bodonkey
Quit while you're ahead. All the best gamblers do. - Baltasar Gracian
Maybe that’s why I prefer cash games so much more than tournaments. One may quit while one is ahead. You just can’t do that in tournaments. However, I couldn’t resist playing in the Bodonkey last night due to the huge overlay being offered. Not only was the standard T$600 added by Bodog but there was a T$270 bounty on $mokkee, too.
My starting table consisted of Colombo777, Gary Carson, Aposec72, and PokerPeaker, as well as, others. I folded a lot since I firmly believe, you can’t win a deepstack tourney in the early phases but you sure can lose one. Peaker got all in with his pocket Aces but lost to a guy holding pocket Kings when a third King came right out on the flop.
A bit later, I limped in with 7-7 from MP and it folded around to the big blind. He raises to 3xbb and I smooth call hoping to see a 7 on the flop. The flop comes 4-4-7. I check, he bets and I call. The turn is a blank and I bet a very small amount (about 1 fifth of the pot) hoping to seem weak and get raised. My opponent takes the bait and raises an amount roughly equal to the pot. I re-raise the minimum and he comes over the top to put me all in.
Of course, I call. He tables his A-A and when the river is not an Ace, I win a massive pot.
I was disappointed when $mokkee was not at my starting table but I was moved to his table shortly after the first break. I was looking to play a big hand with him and the first time he opened the betting pre-flop, I raised him and we took a rainbow flop that came down Q high. I had completely missed with my A-Ko but when he checked it to me, I moved in hoping for a call from a weaker ace. Of course, he folded. Even though we got him down to 4M, that would be my last chance to bust him since not long after that, two players had a similar idea and got all in with $mokkee, but holding A-K both times, he doubled through both of them to become the chip leader at the table. I am not sure what CEMfromMD was thinking when he raised $mokkee all in with A-8o. The other guy, Gary Carson, (at least) held A-Qo and might have had a reasonable expectation of winning. So, I play on for a while when I look down at 9-10s on the button. I decide if it is folded around to me, I am going to steal the blinds. So, when all the earlier players fold to me, I bet double the big blind. Gary Carson calls from the small blind and the big blind folds. We take a flop of A-10-7 with two hearts. I move in since I correctly figured Carson did not have an Ace and my 10 was good.
Being an unrepentant short-stacker, I prefer to win pots pre-flop or on the flop and I wanted to take this pot down now. My thinking was there was no way he would call without the Ace and I believe he would have re-raised me pre-flop if he held an Ace so I was not putting him on an Ace.
He freaking calls with 2-8s (hearts of course). Pairing his undercards won’t help him so he must make a flush to win. Of course, the turn is a 6 of hearts and I am knocked out in 19th place. While that sucked, I played well and got my money in good every time.
My reads had been spot on and I played much better than my last two attempts at the Bodonkey. At least Carson went on (with my chips) to make the final table.
Smokkee went on to win and claim his own unclaimed bounty. Yeah, I know, it sounds fishy to me too, but that’s online poker for you. Congrats to $mokkee on his TOC seat and a nice win.
Maybe that’s why I prefer cash games so much more than tournaments. One may quit while one is ahead. You just can’t do that in tournaments. However, I couldn’t resist playing in the Bodonkey last night due to the huge overlay being offered. Not only was the standard T$600 added by Bodog but there was a T$270 bounty on $mokkee, too.
My starting table consisted of Colombo777, Gary Carson, Aposec72, and PokerPeaker, as well as, others. I folded a lot since I firmly believe, you can’t win a deepstack tourney in the early phases but you sure can lose one. Peaker got all in with his pocket Aces but lost to a guy holding pocket Kings when a third King came right out on the flop.
A bit later, I limped in with 7-7 from MP and it folded around to the big blind. He raises to 3xbb and I smooth call hoping to see a 7 on the flop. The flop comes 4-4-7. I check, he bets and I call. The turn is a blank and I bet a very small amount (about 1 fifth of the pot) hoping to seem weak and get raised. My opponent takes the bait and raises an amount roughly equal to the pot. I re-raise the minimum and he comes over the top to put me all in.
Of course, I call. He tables his A-A and when the river is not an Ace, I win a massive pot.
I was disappointed when $mokkee was not at my starting table but I was moved to his table shortly after the first break. I was looking to play a big hand with him and the first time he opened the betting pre-flop, I raised him and we took a rainbow flop that came down Q high. I had completely missed with my A-Ko but when he checked it to me, I moved in hoping for a call from a weaker ace. Of course, he folded. Even though we got him down to 4M, that would be my last chance to bust him since not long after that, two players had a similar idea and got all in with $mokkee, but holding A-K both times, he doubled through both of them to become the chip leader at the table. I am not sure what CEMfromMD was thinking when he raised $mokkee all in with A-8o. The other guy, Gary Carson, (at least) held A-Qo and might have had a reasonable expectation of winning. So, I play on for a while when I look down at 9-10s on the button. I decide if it is folded around to me, I am going to steal the blinds. So, when all the earlier players fold to me, I bet double the big blind. Gary Carson calls from the small blind and the big blind folds. We take a flop of A-10-7 with two hearts. I move in since I correctly figured Carson did not have an Ace and my 10 was good.
Being an unrepentant short-stacker, I prefer to win pots pre-flop or on the flop and I wanted to take this pot down now. My thinking was there was no way he would call without the Ace and I believe he would have re-raised me pre-flop if he held an Ace so I was not putting him on an Ace.
He freaking calls with 2-8s (hearts of course). Pairing his undercards won’t help him so he must make a flush to win. Of course, the turn is a 6 of hearts and I am knocked out in 19th place. While that sucked, I played well and got my money in good every time.
My reads had been spot on and I played much better than my last two attempts at the Bodonkey. At least Carson went on (with my chips) to make the final table.
Smokkee went on to win and claim his own unclaimed bounty. Yeah, I know, it sounds fishy to me too, but that’s online poker for you. Congrats to $mokkee on his TOC seat and a nice win.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Blogger Tournaments on Bodog
The ladder of success is best climbed by stepping on the rungs of opportunity. - Ayn Rand
Opportunity is what poker is all about, so check this out. In addition to the overlay offered for $mokkee’s BoDonkey online poker tournament, Bodog is going to send some lucky blogger to the World Series of Poker in fabulous Las Vegas. That’s right, the intelligent, savvy, and well read folks over at Bodog have subjected themselves to our writing and they know a good thing when they read it. Their business acumen is surpassed only by their generosity to those of us that like to write about our poker misadventures. They've even got a prop bet pool going on which blogger will win the most money at the WSOP this year!
Be there, Tuesday evenings at 9:05pm Eastern Time for the $11.00 buy in deep stacked NLHE online poker tournament.
As always, good luck at the tables.
Opportunity is what poker is all about, so check this out. In addition to the overlay offered for $mokkee’s BoDonkey online poker tournament, Bodog is going to send some lucky blogger to the World Series of Poker in fabulous Las Vegas. That’s right, the intelligent, savvy, and well read folks over at Bodog have subjected themselves to our writing and they know a good thing when they read it. Their business acumen is surpassed only by their generosity to those of us that like to write about our poker misadventures. They've even got a prop bet pool going on which blogger will win the most money at the WSOP this year!
Be there, Tuesday evenings at 9:05pm Eastern Time for the $11.00 buy in deep stacked NLHE online poker tournament.
As always, good luck at the tables.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Maximizing Expected Value
“A philosopher, who is not taking part in discussions, is like a boxer who never goes into the ring.” – Ludwig Wittgenstein
There has been a lot of discussion about this in the poker blogosphere lately, so here is my opinion.
Poker is a mathematical game. Mathematical expectation should be a very important factor in the strategy and tactics one adopts and the decisions that one makes in any poker game. This expectation (also known as Expected Value) is factored into every decision a good poker player makes. Situations/decisions that are positive EV, are situations/decisions that over a long period of time and innumerable instances, always make money.
Negative EV situations/decisions are ones that always lose money over a long period of time and innumerable instances.
Creating a hostile playing environment (whether live or online) is always negative EV.
Here is why. Over the long haul, it only serves to reduce the volume of less serious players. Players that are skilled and serious about their game will not be discouraged from playing because they are playing to win irrespective of anything else. However, there are lots of players that just play for fun. These are not bad players at all. They just aren’t “into it” as much as some of the rest of us.
I believe it is positive EV to have as many of these somewhat casual players involved as possible. They are good people. They are fun to play with. They add money to the table if playing for cash and money to the prize pool of tournaments. All they do is add value - money, entertainment, as well as, comradery. Thus, they are highly desirable to have in any game. Why in the world would we want to create situations that discourage these folks from playing with us?
It just doesn’t make sense. Good players want to maximize positive EV.
Think about it. Until next time, good luck at the tables.
There has been a lot of discussion about this in the poker blogosphere lately, so here is my opinion.
Poker is a mathematical game. Mathematical expectation should be a very important factor in the strategy and tactics one adopts and the decisions that one makes in any poker game. This expectation (also known as Expected Value) is factored into every decision a good poker player makes. Situations/decisions that are positive EV, are situations/decisions that over a long period of time and innumerable instances, always make money.
Negative EV situations/decisions are ones that always lose money over a long period of time and innumerable instances.
Creating a hostile playing environment (whether live or online) is always negative EV.
Here is why. Over the long haul, it only serves to reduce the volume of less serious players. Players that are skilled and serious about their game will not be discouraged from playing because they are playing to win irrespective of anything else. However, there are lots of players that just play for fun. These are not bad players at all. They just aren’t “into it” as much as some of the rest of us.
I believe it is positive EV to have as many of these somewhat casual players involved as possible. They are good people. They are fun to play with. They add money to the table if playing for cash and money to the prize pool of tournaments. All they do is add value - money, entertainment, as well as, comradery. Thus, they are highly desirable to have in any game. Why in the world would we want to create situations that discourage these folks from playing with us?
It just doesn’t make sense. Good players want to maximize positive EV.
Think about it. Until next time, good luck at the tables.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Return to the Mookie – When Pocket Aces Just Aren’t Enough
So, I register early for the Mookie and am able to get the family settled in for the night before the tournament began. I am feeling mentally sharp and planning to play conservatively for the first hour or so. I am successful in executing my strategy until approximately 9:36 (Texas time) when I am dealt pocket Aces. I am in early-middle position and dwal78 open bets. I smooth call hoping to attract some action and maybe even get someone to raise for me. Of course, no one does and dwal78 and I take a flop of 9d-Kc-10d. He checks and I move in. He calls and shows the Kd-Jd. The turn is the Qh and the river is the 7d. My Aces are cracked and re-cracked and I am out in 84th place. Maybe next time…..
Thursday, February 28, 2008
An Evening at Mookie’s
I decided to play in the Mookie again last night. Tournaments are not my strength but it is hard to resist playing in this well attended blogger donkamant when I have the opportunity. I got a late start since the family wasn’t quite in bed yet when the tourney started. I only had two playable hands before the first break. I had Q-Q but got no action and I had A-Qs and flopped Q-Q-x but could not get any action - lots of respect but no action. After the break, I went on a mini-streak when I got 10-10, a suited Ace that flopped the nut flush, A-K with an Ace high flop, K-Qs flopped a flush and str8t draw but I never could convince anyone to play a pot with me. Then, I get 8-8, turn a set and river a boat to double through Dubspoke before the second break. After the 2nd break, I went on another run being dealt A-Q, K-K, and K-K in rapid succession. The noble monarchs decreed execution to be the fate of OhCaptain and I collect my first bounty of the night. Soon after that, Waffles had pocket Aces and I folded 6-6 to his weak bet since it smelled like he wanted a call. Wouldn’t you know it? An innocent seeming 6 came right out on the flop and I would have flopped a set and collected his bounty if I had stayed in the hand. I get nothing for a while but in the meantime, TripJax gets all in with Q-4 against A-K and makes two pair when a Q and a 4 flop right out. Soon, I look down to find another pair of Kings and this time, Jestocoast wants action. My Kowboys meet him in the street and gun him down for my second bounty of the night. By now, I have a comfortable stack compared with the field and I should have slowed down a bit. However, I am feeling good and make the final table full of confidence. I am honored to share the final table with such blogger luminaries as Fuel55, TripJax, and Sir Waffles. Within the first two orbits, I am UTG and look down at the hand of the day, pocket Kings. Now, if you have been paying attention, this is the fourth time in this donkament I have been dealt K-K. I should have known it was coming. Can you sense it? Yep. I run my pocket Kings right into pocket Aces. The flop was all undercards so even if I had not been all in pre-flop, I would have moved in on the flop. Dammit! Neither the turn nor the river helped me and my Kings are ignobly impaled on the Aces of McIarich, the usurper (and the eventual winner). And with that, I am eliminated in 9th place with 2 bounties. I had a great time but sure wish I had lasted longer at the final table.
Friday, February 8, 2008
My Ignominious Return to the Mookie
The Mookie is a blogger tournament I used to play occasionally before it moved off of PokerStars and on to Full Tilt. I even won the whole enchilada back in 2006 – here is the link to my Champion’s profile. http://mookie99.bigopokerroom.com/?p=287#comments
However, I was unable to summon forth my “A” game and it was apparent. I was looking forward to the opportunity to make a triumphant return and then write all about it on my blog. Yeah, right. Well, I am going to write about it but that’s it. Buddy Dank is now live blogcasting the tourney on his site and he even had Mookie himself on the show. They were quite entertaining but also very distracting since they were also live blogcasting the Big Blogger Cash Game at the same time as the Mookie. I allowed myself to be captivated by watching these well bankrolled bloggers taking turns kicking one another in the junk for fairly large sums of chips. This game was 4-8 NLHE deep stacked. I railed them for over 2 hours. It was intense. The biggest pot I observed was a hand where two players flopped sets and got it all in. Set over Set for almost $3,000 in that one pot. Brutal! Weak Player won that pot and seemed to be the biggest winner. Fuel55 and CMitch also played well and seemed to do OK. Besides all that action and the funny chatter, Buddy Dank’s show comes out of the speakers so loud that he drowns out the sounds of the chips, cards, warnings, etc. All of these distractions spelled disaster for me as I was not disciplined enough to overcome them. I called off one third of my chips with A-K and A-Ks that never improved and then ran my pocket Jacks right smack into pocket Kings – which was the end of the Mookie for me. I was disappointingly knocked out in 55th place (out of 74 entrants) - a weak showing for me. Oh well. I still look forward to playing in the Mookie again soon and next time, I focus on my game without all the other stuff.
However, I was unable to summon forth my “A” game and it was apparent. I was looking forward to the opportunity to make a triumphant return and then write all about it on my blog. Yeah, right. Well, I am going to write about it but that’s it. Buddy Dank is now live blogcasting the tourney on his site and he even had Mookie himself on the show. They were quite entertaining but also very distracting since they were also live blogcasting the Big Blogger Cash Game at the same time as the Mookie. I allowed myself to be captivated by watching these well bankrolled bloggers taking turns kicking one another in the junk for fairly large sums of chips. This game was 4-8 NLHE deep stacked. I railed them for over 2 hours. It was intense. The biggest pot I observed was a hand where two players flopped sets and got it all in. Set over Set for almost $3,000 in that one pot. Brutal! Weak Player won that pot and seemed to be the biggest winner. Fuel55 and CMitch also played well and seemed to do OK. Besides all that action and the funny chatter, Buddy Dank’s show comes out of the speakers so loud that he drowns out the sounds of the chips, cards, warnings, etc. All of these distractions spelled disaster for me as I was not disciplined enough to overcome them. I called off one third of my chips with A-K and A-Ks that never improved and then ran my pocket Jacks right smack into pocket Kings – which was the end of the Mookie for me. I was disappointingly knocked out in 55th place (out of 74 entrants) - a weak showing for me. Oh well. I still look forward to playing in the Mookie again soon and next time, I focus on my game without all the other stuff.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
The Poker Grump’s Tournament for Readers
This fellow blogger not only writes a quality poker blog, he also hosted a tournament for his readers last night. The turnout was a bit low but the quality of the players was quite high. The Grump himself (not surprisingly) also played well. It was a deepstack tourney so I played small ball in the early stages. I got pocket Aces twice in the first 90 minutes but since I refuse to limp in with Aces, no one would give me any action. I folded a lot of marginal hands out of position while trying to get a read on the table. I got all in with my pocket Queens against the Grump’s A-J s00ted, and of course, he hits an Ace on the flop. That was a near crippling blow but shortly after that, I chipped back up to a decent stack. Along the way I made some BIG folds even when I held premium hands (J-J, A-Q, etc.) if I was out of position. Until the final two hands of the night, I got my money in the middle with the best hand every time. I played a little under aggressively and in hindsight, I forfeited some opportunities to steal and position myself better for the final battle. Heads up, first hand, I turn two pair only to find I am up against a flopped boat. Argh! Then, in the final hand, I get pocket 10s (a hand I really like) and got all in only to find myself up against pocket Aces. Guess what? Another Ace comes right out on the flop and I am toast. Good Game to both the Grump (who placed 3rd) and the Pemite (the winner). I finished 2nd and felt I made a respectable showing. Thanks again to the Poker Grump for hosting the event. The best part of all this is now I have a few bucks on Full Tilt again. I will be returning to the Mookie for the first time in about 18 months tonight. Wish me Luck.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Bodonkey 2, the Sequel
I have a hypothesis that it is –EV to play when you are not on your “A” game and being one to put my money where my mouth is, I went and proved I was right. After getting the bad news that the usual Tuesday night homegame was cancelled, I immediately began looking forward to another chance to play in the Bodonkey hosted by $mokkee on Bodog. This tournament has the best overlay of any I know of. I placed in the money (barely) last time I played so I was hoping to improve on that finish. I registered early and took care of the family so I could focus on my play. My son had other ideas, though. As soon as the tourney started, he wanted attention. I can’t deny the little guy and I should have “sat out” while I handled him. But, the fates conspired against me and kept dealing me good cards. Not great cards, mind you, but solid starting hands.
Being able to multi-task is one of the perceived advantages to playing online. I disagree. It may be convenient but it in no way enhances your skill or chance to win at the table and will most likely, decrease your chance to win. So, here I am distracted and out of practice for tourney play so what do you suppose happens?
The first hand dealt to me is one I usually play fast (10-10) but I foolishly decided to play it softer and I got outdrawn. 2nd hand is K-Js a very playable hand. Nothing on the flop and a bet coming in, I have to fold. Another 10-10 appears for me within the first 5 minutes so I play this one faster and guess what? I run right into pocket A-A. WTF? Within another 5 minutes, another 10-10! Flop is K-Q-x and villains bet right into me after I opened pre-flop. I gotta fold. I get 5-5. Flop a set and turn a boat! No action! Dammit! I tried to play small ball at first and win some small pots while getting a feel for the table. That did not work well and I am down to about 2400 (from 3000) 20 minutes into the tourney.
I proceed to get A-Ko four times in the next 15 minutes and can’t get anything to hit on the flop. C-bets are getting smooth called. This is not going well but my suffering would be brief. Not long after that, I get K-Qo in the SB and raise the BB (Instant Tragedy) in an attempt to steal. IT calls and I figure he does not want me to steal his blind and is defending. I am not putting him on a hand since he did not raise. Flop is a non-threatening J-4-x rainbow. I check and he checks behind. Turn is another 4 pairing the board. I check and he checks behind. River is a K and now I have top and bottom 2 pair. I check and he bets enough to put me all in. I interpret this as a shameless attempt to steal the pot after neither one of us showed any strength. I make a donktastic call figuring him for nothing or maybe a J for a lower 2 pair. He shows his pocket J-J and I am the first one knocked out. Talk about getting your donkey on. Congrats to Instant Tragedy for knocking me out and going on to finish 2nd in the whole thing.
Good bye Bodog, it’s back to my regular cash games on “PokerScars” for the remainder of the evening. I get some decent hands and I double up with K-K. Then, I am in the BB with A-9o and it is four limpers to the flop of Ac-9d-6c. I check with the intent of check raising but no one bets. Turn is a Kh and I lead out. Two guys call and I am happy. River is Ks. I do not like it but figure my top 2 pair is good. Surprise! The 6 seat had Kc-10c and was chasing flush but hit trips to take it down. Why did I check the flop? I probably would have won the pot right there. Sometimes, I get greedy. I end the session up 1 buy in.
Being able to multi-task is one of the perceived advantages to playing online. I disagree. It may be convenient but it in no way enhances your skill or chance to win at the table and will most likely, decrease your chance to win. So, here I am distracted and out of practice for tourney play so what do you suppose happens?
The first hand dealt to me is one I usually play fast (10-10) but I foolishly decided to play it softer and I got outdrawn. 2nd hand is K-Js a very playable hand. Nothing on the flop and a bet coming in, I have to fold. Another 10-10 appears for me within the first 5 minutes so I play this one faster and guess what? I run right into pocket A-A. WTF? Within another 5 minutes, another 10-10! Flop is K-Q-x and villains bet right into me after I opened pre-flop. I gotta fold. I get 5-5. Flop a set and turn a boat! No action! Dammit! I tried to play small ball at first and win some small pots while getting a feel for the table. That did not work well and I am down to about 2400 (from 3000) 20 minutes into the tourney.
I proceed to get A-Ko four times in the next 15 minutes and can’t get anything to hit on the flop. C-bets are getting smooth called. This is not going well but my suffering would be brief. Not long after that, I get K-Qo in the SB and raise the BB (Instant Tragedy) in an attempt to steal. IT calls and I figure he does not want me to steal his blind and is defending. I am not putting him on a hand since he did not raise. Flop is a non-threatening J-4-x rainbow. I check and he checks behind. Turn is another 4 pairing the board. I check and he checks behind. River is a K and now I have top and bottom 2 pair. I check and he bets enough to put me all in. I interpret this as a shameless attempt to steal the pot after neither one of us showed any strength. I make a donktastic call figuring him for nothing or maybe a J for a lower 2 pair. He shows his pocket J-J and I am the first one knocked out. Talk about getting your donkey on. Congrats to Instant Tragedy for knocking me out and going on to finish 2nd in the whole thing.
Good bye Bodog, it’s back to my regular cash games on “PokerScars” for the remainder of the evening. I get some decent hands and I double up with K-K. Then, I am in the BB with A-9o and it is four limpers to the flop of Ac-9d-6c. I check with the intent of check raising but no one bets. Turn is a Kh and I lead out. Two guys call and I am happy. River is Ks. I do not like it but figure my top 2 pair is good. Surprise! The 6 seat had Kc-10c and was chasing flush but hit trips to take it down. Why did I check the flop? I probably would have won the pot right there. Sometimes, I get greedy. I end the session up 1 buy in.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
The Bodonkey
Happy New Year! I am usually involved in a homegame on Tuesday evenings so I do not often get a chance to play in the Bodonkey but I was home on New Year’s day/evening so I decided to play my first online tourney of 2008. This tourney is hosted by Smokkee on Bodog and has a GREAT OVERLAY! Seriously! I am not a regular on Bodog so I did not even have enough $ left to enter so I had to play a cash table to win enough for the buy in. I managed to do so after playing a while but I was completely card dead for the first hour or so of the tourney. Jordan from HoP was at my table along with PokahDave, NewinNov, and others. I had eaten my cabbage and black-eyed peas so I was hoping to get lucky. However, my son wanted attention and I also had major connectivity challenges, kept losing my wireless signal, and when I finally got that going again, I had to log out and back into Bodog so it would stop automatically folding all my hands. This did not make it easy to focus on my tourney strategy. One thing I noticed right away is the Bodonkey is pretty rocky. The Mookie is much more action oriented and that pace of play was more along the lines of what I was expecting. I adapted, remained patient, and kept waiting for a playable hand. I finally get A-A in the big blind and think I will get some action now! But, guess what? They all folded to me and I won the blinds. Talk about anti-climactic. After stealing my blinds all evening, I finally get a hand and no one wants to play. Just my luck. As I am beginning to feel desperate, Yestbay and I get all in and he has A-Jo to my A-Qs. Justice prevails, my A-Q holds up, and I double through him. Later, I make a boat vs. PokahDave but he would not give me any action and I only won a small pot. I did not get many other good hands but I did manage to make the final table. At the final table, the blinds were getting high, and I found 7-7 UTG. I move in and everyone folds around to GoatRodeo who calls with A-10o. A proverbial race. He wins when he flops a 10 and rivers and Ace. I am out in 8th place but win eleven tourney bucks so I can play again when I have the opportunity. At least GoatRodeo took my chips and went on to win. All in all, I enjoyed the chance to play with the other bloggers and had a good time.
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