This news article correctly shows the mind of a true poker player:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2008/jun/16/poker
No card sharp of any age should be stupid enough to play roulette. But this month, at the Victoria Casino in London (British poker's HQ), there are poker shrewdies round the wheel every night between midnight and 1am. Why? Because - damaged like all casinos by the smoking ban - the Vic is offering a crazy June promotion, where the number corresponding to the date (today it will be 16) is paid out, for that "happy hour", at 40-1.
The odds of it coming are 36-1. The offered price is usually 35-1. To pay better than true odds is revolutionary, and inadvisable for a casino. Smart poker players are in there every night, betting the relevant number as many times as possible. It's an interesting symbol of what good poker is all about: taking odds in your favour, bending chance under your will, and accepting that it might still beat you anyway. If you bet the "happy" number for £5 each time over 100 spins of the wheel, you could lose up to £500 and win up to £20,000. But you should win £50. It's like betting the full pot if your hand is any better than 2-1. Roulette is too dangerous to recommend, even during this June madness, but let it be a poker lesson in taking the beneficial price: if you lose anyway, you've still done the right thing.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Monday, July 14, 2008
Back in the Grind
Bankroll is now up to $750, but wow, what an adventure it took just to get to this from May.
So I ended May around $480, on a bit of a downswing after running it up to $600 at NL50. I decided to move back to NL25 at the start of June to get my confidence back, and promptly ran it up to $550 again. Nice.
Then I got this glorious email from RakeBackPros telling me that I can now receive rakeback from Full Tilt. Alright! Wanting to take advantage of this. I moved $500, most of my roll, to Full Tilt. And then promptly lost 25% of it in a week.
I don't why, but I just can't beat the games at Full Tilt. Whenever I've got a big hand I never get paid off, and whenever I play a big pot I lost. I've also noticed that the players are better than at Pokerstars, they raise more preflop and are generally more tight-aggressive. So there you are, I can't beat NL25 again. What a humbling experience.
I was getting close to despair, but what saved me again was Pokerstars. I left a little bit of money there so that I can still keep playing some of the tourneys, I just love the structures there. I've been playing the 180-player $4.40 SnG and finished just short of the money the first 3 times. The 4th time, I struck gold. I finished 2nd for almost $150, which made up for my losses at FT and and put me back up to $600.
So there you are, I've somewhat given up on my Full Tilt game already, and just concentrated on Pokerstars again, even without rakeback at least I can win there. I'm playing NL50 (playing 60BB) once again and been up 1.5 buy-ins the past week. Here's hoping I can avoid a downswing for the near future.
So I ended May around $480, on a bit of a downswing after running it up to $600 at NL50. I decided to move back to NL25 at the start of June to get my confidence back, and promptly ran it up to $550 again. Nice.
Then I got this glorious email from RakeBackPros telling me that I can now receive rakeback from Full Tilt. Alright! Wanting to take advantage of this. I moved $500, most of my roll, to Full Tilt. And then promptly lost 25% of it in a week.
I don't why, but I just can't beat the games at Full Tilt. Whenever I've got a big hand I never get paid off, and whenever I play a big pot I lost. I've also noticed that the players are better than at Pokerstars, they raise more preflop and are generally more tight-aggressive. So there you are, I can't beat NL25 again. What a humbling experience.
I was getting close to despair, but what saved me again was Pokerstars. I left a little bit of money there so that I can still keep playing some of the tourneys, I just love the structures there. I've been playing the 180-player $4.40 SnG and finished just short of the money the first 3 times. The 4th time, I struck gold. I finished 2nd for almost $150, which made up for my losses at FT and and put me back up to $600.
So there you are, I've somewhat given up on my Full Tilt game already, and just concentrated on Pokerstars again, even without rakeback at least I can win there. I'm playing NL50 (playing 60BB) once again and been up 1.5 buy-ins the past week. Here's hoping I can avoid a downswing for the near future.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Stuck
Before the last 2 weeks, I had the most ridiculous run of poker at NL25 and then at NL50. In a course of a month, I turned my $50 at Pokerstars and $100 at Bodog into a combined $650. Along the way I cashed out of Bodog and moved it into Pokerstars so that I could start playing NL50 exclusively (still underrolled of course). I was feeling pretty good about myself, even having plans to move up to NL100 by the end of June and then maybe NL200 by December. I was on a roll.
Of course, now I'm on a downswing.
I'll be lucky if I'm not back at NL25 by the end of June, the deadline I had hoped to move up on. It's been 2 weeks of consistent losing, sprinkled with 2 days of slightly finishing up on the session. From a high point of $650, I'm now at $480. I promised myself I'd move back down to NL25 if I ever drop below $400 (bankroll management kuno). Great, that means I just have 1.5 buyins of NL50 left.
Here's a couple of steps I'm taking to help me stay in NL50:
1. Play less tables. I've been trying to get myself to playing 6 tables regularly, and even went up to 8 tables at 1 point. Although I do feel like I'm more focused and I play better with more tables, I should drop to 2-3 tables just to control the amount of my roll I'm putting into play.
2. Start at 60BB again. I made that run buying-in for only 60BB per table, the amount which I think is perfect for playing top pair hands. Once I reached $580+ I moved to buying-in in full and then always reloading once it dips slightly, just like they do in the poker training videos.
I noticed that at 100BB I'm more scared (and rightly so) to play single pair hands. Now that in itself isn't a bad thing, but I overdid it and turned my game into tight-passive where before I was tight-aggressive. Maybe playing mid-stacks will help me play better again. Easier to get the SPR I want on the hand and all that.
3. Start reading again. What the fuck Jino. Mom got me Harrington on Cash Games vol. 1 about 3 weeks ago and I still haven't read 2/3 of it! I was expecting to have finished vol. 2 by now. I have to finish vol 1 before she next flies to the US so I can ask her to get the next book by then.
Still hoping to move up to NL100 before the end of the year.
Of course, now I'm on a downswing.
I'll be lucky if I'm not back at NL25 by the end of June, the deadline I had hoped to move up on. It's been 2 weeks of consistent losing, sprinkled with 2 days of slightly finishing up on the session. From a high point of $650, I'm now at $480. I promised myself I'd move back down to NL25 if I ever drop below $400 (bankroll management kuno). Great, that means I just have 1.5 buyins of NL50 left.
Here's a couple of steps I'm taking to help me stay in NL50:
1. Play less tables. I've been trying to get myself to playing 6 tables regularly, and even went up to 8 tables at 1 point. Although I do feel like I'm more focused and I play better with more tables, I should drop to 2-3 tables just to control the amount of my roll I'm putting into play.
2. Start at 60BB again. I made that run buying-in for only 60BB per table, the amount which I think is perfect for playing top pair hands. Once I reached $580+ I moved to buying-in in full and then always reloading once it dips slightly, just like they do in the poker training videos.
I noticed that at 100BB I'm more scared (and rightly so) to play single pair hands. Now that in itself isn't a bad thing, but I overdid it and turned my game into tight-passive where before I was tight-aggressive. Maybe playing mid-stacks will help me play better again. Easier to get the SPR I want on the hand and all that.
3. Start reading again. What the fuck Jino. Mom got me Harrington on Cash Games vol. 1 about 3 weeks ago and I still haven't read 2/3 of it! I was expecting to have finished vol. 2 by now. I have to finish vol 1 before she next flies to the US so I can ask her to get the next book by then.
Still hoping to move up to NL100 before the end of the year.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Fuck the Fates
Last night I played 25-50 at the Metro and had a table that grinders dream about. I had 3 foreigners drunk off their asses having a shot of tequila every other hand, 2 obvious beginners who didn't know shit and was just there to gamble (Called a PF all-in with 5-3 offsuit. What. The. Fuck.), a good player who was super tight (ie, easy to read), and across me was a friend of mine so we were just gonna get out of each other's way. It just doesn't get any better than that kids.
After 3-4 orbits, I get 10-2 in the small blind. There's a lot of limpers so I just limp as well and that flop comes 10-7-2 with two clubs. Bullseye. I bet out around 300, and get called by the beginner on my right. Turn comes a non-club 3 so I bet out enough to have him commit all-in, which he gladly obliges. River is a non-club 4 which I thought was perfect until that monkey shows me his 56 offsuit. Yes folks, he called a pot size bet on the flop with 6 high and no draws, and then bet all-in on the turn with a gutshot. Really nice.
So I'm short stack now, and get QJ in the small blind after 1 orbit. There's a straddle to 100 so after a couple of callers I just call again. Flop is J high with 2 hearts. I go all-in for my last P700 on a P400 pot and get called by the foreiger with a flush draw. (Never heard of pot odds or implied odds huh?) Of course, a heart comes on the turn and I'm broke.
Normally I just call it a night after losing my buy-in but this table was just sooo juicy, I just had to rebuy. So I top up my stack and gird for battle once again. On the button I limp with J-8 of hearts. Flop comes all hearts. The shortstack CO raises 200 and I reraise to 700, putting him all in. He calls and shows me the nuts. Fuck!
Okay, now I'm starting to wonder what the hell is going on. I get 66 and I'm floated on JJ4 flop by the beginner with 9-10 and a 10 hits the river. I get JJ, raise, and the flop comes AK10 and people are betting like there's no tomorrow. None of my pocket pairs hit their sets and none of my draws make it. I DIDN'T WIN A SINGLE HAND IN 5 FUCKING HOURS!
My night finally ended when on the button I get QQ, raise to 400, and the drunk foreigner on my left goes all-in for 6k. I may have been tilting, but I forced myself to call and he has JJ. Whew! The pot was big enough to get me unstuck and maybe even leave me slightly ahead. Flop brings a J.
I was down 10k and now I have to rebuild at the 10-20. Sigh. Just another day of poker.
After 3-4 orbits, I get 10-2 in the small blind. There's a lot of limpers so I just limp as well and that flop comes 10-7-2 with two clubs. Bullseye. I bet out around 300, and get called by the beginner on my right. Turn comes a non-club 3 so I bet out enough to have him commit all-in, which he gladly obliges. River is a non-club 4 which I thought was perfect until that monkey shows me his 56 offsuit. Yes folks, he called a pot size bet on the flop with 6 high and no draws, and then bet all-in on the turn with a gutshot. Really nice.
So I'm short stack now, and get QJ in the small blind after 1 orbit. There's a straddle to 100 so after a couple of callers I just call again. Flop is J high with 2 hearts. I go all-in for my last P700 on a P400 pot and get called by the foreiger with a flush draw. (Never heard of pot odds or implied odds huh?) Of course, a heart comes on the turn and I'm broke.
Normally I just call it a night after losing my buy-in but this table was just sooo juicy, I just had to rebuy. So I top up my stack and gird for battle once again. On the button I limp with J-8 of hearts. Flop comes all hearts. The shortstack CO raises 200 and I reraise to 700, putting him all in. He calls and shows me the nuts. Fuck!
Okay, now I'm starting to wonder what the hell is going on. I get 66 and I'm floated on JJ4 flop by the beginner with 9-10 and a 10 hits the river. I get JJ, raise, and the flop comes AK10 and people are betting like there's no tomorrow. None of my pocket pairs hit their sets and none of my draws make it. I DIDN'T WIN A SINGLE HAND IN 5 FUCKING HOURS!
My night finally ended when on the button I get QQ, raise to 400, and the drunk foreigner on my left goes all-in for 6k. I may have been tilting, but I forced myself to call and he has JJ. Whew! The pot was big enough to get me unstuck and maybe even leave me slightly ahead. Flop brings a J.
I was down 10k and now I have to rebuild at the 10-20. Sigh. Just another day of poker.
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