Amateur Poker Association & Tour
Poker Forum => General Discussion => Member Blogs => Topic started by: VBlue on September 09, 2009, 12:41:11 PM
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VBlue"s Blog. Blog Date: 9th September, 2009.
Currently orbiting: The George & Dragon, Kendal (Pub Poker League) & Full Tilt Poker
The G&D
I have decided to make more of a prescence at the table, vocally. I have been guilty in the past of becoming a bit bored at this venue and as a result have not enjoyed the evening and slipped into some disinterested/poor play. I want to ensure that I enjoy the night firstly and play good poker too. No point in playing if I am not going to make my best effort to win.
After two seasons of consistently good poker - 3rd/52 in Spring 09 Season, 2nd/41 in Summer 09 Season - I have started the Autumn 09 Season in terrible fashion. A shopping trip to Carlise put that right! .
Pub Poker League Structure
8 max tables.
3,000 starting chips.
3 hour structure - 25/50, 50/100, 100/200 (break) 200/400, 300/600, 500/1000 (break) (20 min blinds) 1000/2000, 2000/4000, 300/6000 (15 min blinds) - additional 6000/12000, 12000/24000 (10 min blinds) but rarely required.
Points System
200 points buy-in per player.
Final table of 8 mkae the point payout structure.
50 points for playing.
Top 25% of league placing (max 15) qualify for Regional Finals.
No minimum no. of games played required for a player to qualify.
As 1 in 4 players qualify for the Regional Final it generally works that our regular players all qualify, as we get a lot of players coming in just once over a season or just for the odd game or two.
Season lasts 3 calendar months.
Optional Cash
£5 buy-in.
Max £100 prize.
3rd - £10, 2nd - 1/3rd of remaining fund, 1st - 2/3rds of remaining fund.
Back to The G&D
17 players - 9 seater (17th player turned up just as we were about to start - following seat draw) and an 8 seater.
Great seat draw; 2 to the left of our loosest and most aggresive player - Kostas "The Jackal" (Gus). Also on my table is "The Chin", local thespian and v.loose passive player, and Tim "The Great White", who is a decent player and not afraid to make moves from any position.
I fold a pile of stinking hands and then pick up QQ on the button, std 3x raise, 3 to the flop - including The Chin. With 1,700 chips behind and about 1,200 in the pot, a Q high flop with possible flush draw is checked to me. I think for a little and decide to push. Reasoning: protect against flush draw and decent potential of a caller who will be drawing very thin. Both fold; Tom Pats tells me he folded a medium pocket pair - overpair to two low flop cards. Good fold.
Pick up QQ again before the 1st break UTG. Std 3x raise. The Chin calls. A and K on the flop see me c/f.
Go into break with around 4,000 with blinds 200/400 post-break.
Wait patiently for a good spot and loose a few blinds. Down to around 2,700 at 300/600 blinds. Pick up K10 on the button. Folded round, push and get called by AJ in the SB. Game over. 9th place finish, one off the points.
Had fun tonight. Good bit of banter going on. Main receiver of abuse - Gus. When Sean Val comments "rubbish", I say "Yeah, Gus is terrible" his reply "no - my cards tonight". Whoops. Sorry Gus. ;)
Manage to follow this up by signing Gus up for this weekends £20/£20 double chance and next weekend"s Leaving for Las Vegas tournament (more on these to follow).
Live Running Total = -£5
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Blog Date: 10th September
Full Tilt - $5 SNGs 9 man
Decide to go back to playing 2 tables.
Hit a massive run of cards on one and win.
Take my eye off the second and miake a couple of mistakes. Out in 5th.
FT Running Total = +$12.5 Bankroll c.$180.
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Let me know if this is interesting thus far or not.
In fact, what would you like to hear more of or less of as I go? What do you like to read in blogs and what bores you to tears? I may be open to suggestions. Or, I may not.
Motto today: Good things come to those early birds who wait for the worm.
VBlue
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What is the Carlisle poker scene like?
Does anything happen?
L
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Good read - must say tho - structure is a horror show!! From level 3, all hands must turn into open-shove/fold. Good steady results from u tho so wp. Look 4ward to reading more!
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ive occasionally played in the Welsh Poker league and the structure is the same and its a bloody nightmare coupled with extremely loose players (normally a good thing) it really does turn into a game of bingo at times
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The pub poker league structure works in that way as it is the only way to get finished in the time frame we have.
It is really more of a social occassion and is treated as such by most of the players. If they win a few quid then it is a bonus.
Mostly all of my regulars qualify for the Regional Finals and get a crack at qualifying for the National Finals.
I had two players at the last National Final (only played 1 qualifying Regional Final) as we only have two venues in our region currently. The final is split over 2 day 1 events - with 5/185 from each day making the final table on day 2. We played day 2; had one lad in the final 20-odd and Gus finished 6th and missed the final table by 1 place. Min £250 for 10th with £2,500 for the winner.
I don"t know a lot about the Carlisle scene, but a poker club that I run events for in Kendal have secured a licensed venue recently and will be launching events there soon. I cannot post details on here. They run £30/£30 double chance, GUKPT deepstack qualifiers, and Las Vegas qualifiers. Dealers, waitresses, and casino standard equipment provided.
Thanks for all your interest.
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Great start -- will follow this one with interest
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What is the Carlisle poker scene like?
Does anything happen?
L
I was out in carlisle last christmas and there was a pub game going on. I got the impression that a few other pubs did the same thing too.
More intrigingly (sp) does anyone know where the cardroom, that prompted Des to include Carlisle in the National league, in carlisle is?
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What is the Carlisle poker scene like?
Does anything happen?
L
I was out in carlisle last christmas and there was a pub game going on. I got the impression that a few other pubs did the same thing too.
More intrigingly (sp) does anyone know where the cardroom, that prompted Des to include Carlisle in the National league, in carlisle is?
We need one there Rob, it"s a strategically significant outpost. Will you build one for us? :D
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What is the Carlisle poker scene like?
Does anything happen?
L
I was out in carlisle last christmas and there was a pub game going on. I got the impression that a few other pubs did the same thing too.
More intrigingly (sp) does anyone know where the cardroom, that prompted Des to include Carlisle in the National league, in carlisle is?
We need one there Rob, it"s a strategically significant outpost. Will you build one for us? :D
"If you build it they will come"
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The poker club that I represent in Kendal, hailing from W.Cumbria, called me yesterday.
They have obtained a full private member"s gaming license for a venue in Carlise.
First event planned for mid-November. Not sure if this constitues advertising. If it does, then please delete this post.
I did not join APAT to advertise my events and could probably do with some guidance on what I can and can"t post.
I have fallen foul of posting outside your guidelines once already and don"t want to cause any offence. I only posted this reply as another member has brought up the subject.
Cheers.
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We have guidelines????????
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Don"t want to hijack this thread, but in answer to the question raised.
Guidelines are fairly simple.
We discourage direct links to sites that heavily promote pokersites other than our sponsor, for the obvious reason that Blue Square put a considerable amount of money into APAT, all of which goes back to the players in added value, no reg fees etc.
Apart from that, if it is relevant to the members and fits within the APAT "ethos" then it is fine. By looking through the forum, you"ll get a feel for what is considered acceptable or not.
And if in doubt, feel free to pm a Mod for advice. Always happy to help.
Leigh
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Blog Date: 10th September 2009
Full Tilt Poker and The Heron.
The Heron - Nuts Poker League
A final table 7th place, followed by 2 x 3rd place cashes in the last three weeks have given me some much needed points and all but cemented a qualification place, following a poor(ish) start to the league. All that has eluded me is a win.
With 17 in tonight, I again ensured that banter was fast and fierce. And with "The Kid" Baker sat to my left, our table was set for some sledging of the highest order; all in good spirit of course.
With all now familiar with our structure I will get straight down to the action.
I was paying less attention to my opponents play tonight, although feel like I have a decent read on most of them, having played 6 months now with this crowd. The Thurday-nighted (a term coined by Sean "The Russian") crowd were not in tonight, save for one or two.
For a flavour of the night I includ an extract from an article I wrote recently regarding pub poker, with this particular reference to The Heron:
In fact, downing several glass of Rose wine, followed by aftershocks and cocktails of many colours is the order of the day at our Thursday night venue. These players often arrive with good intentions, but as 10 o'clock approaches, taxis are ordered and a night up-town beckons. These players will now be happy to shove their chips in with any two cards, in the hope of being called and busted out of the tournament. You will not see this play made on the GUKPT or the WSOP. Be aware of your players, listen to what they say about which poker books they read, or which TV players they aspire to play like, but most importantly listen out for what time their taxi is booked and keep a mental note of their alcoholic unit consumption!
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continued (problems adding to that last reply)
So, with a more civilised atmosphere, bar the trash talk, a good game ensued. I picked up 77 from the button and decided to "punish the limpers" (a move I regularly make a big noise about but rarely do without a hand) with a pot size bet of 400 with 4 callers. Craig Ross, early caller and rock solid, then made it 800. I gave it some thought and decided to preserve chips, with position and increasing blinds in mind.
Next hand I pick up 44 and make the same move again from the small blind with 5 callers and pick up 500 chips as all fold. That paid for the previous hand then!
With around 4,000 after the break, 10 BBs is probably average and an OK stack at this stage, for this structure. I then pick up 88 and get all my chips in, following 1 early caller with a large stack, knowing a call is likely with a wide range. QJ turns over and I hold to double up to about 6,000.
I then see AA and KK with no callers and make the final table with about 6,000.
The final table sees a few short stacks get knocked out fairly quickly and I play solid positional poker and also pick up a hand or two along the way which hold; KQ vs K rag my favourite. I eventually get heads-up, after holding AA and having the short stack move in on me; then take two hands to win it.
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AK 2.5 x BB raise from button, all-in from Q10 and I call. Then move in with 33, with 90% of chips in play and a £50 payday is mine.
My morning went less well, but I remain philosophical about my play. I made a mis-step or two playing two tables, when hands appear on both at the same time and I have a decision, rather than an auto-play. I also made a re-raise from the SB with a small pocket (with a v.tight image) and then got shoved on, but inexplicably called, when I had made this move to fold to the all-in in the first place! JJ was turned over and I was out.
Played a few hands really well. One where I called in an early round and then flatted a raise with 10/9c, hit a 9 high flop and check called a c-bet and proceeded to extract good value, knowing exactly where I was at all times. A little risky, but an added dimension to my game I felt. I also had AA cracked when I owned A/rag when then shoved on the turn, with a flush draw showing and got outdrawn by the backdoor flush.
Only made one 2nd place cash, but am going to persevere with the two tables, as I will only get better by playing them more often and I will, of course, increase the number of games I am playing - times 2 if my maths is good!
Live Running Total = +£40
FT Running Total = +$9.5 (6 SNGs played)
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Blog Date: 13th September 2009
NPS Live Tournament, Kendal
I hosted a 50 seat, £20/£20 double chance tournament in Kendal. The turnout was down on our last event, with 34 players playing for a total pot of £660.
The positive is, that over the two events held this year, I have had nearly 80 different players attend. This, of course, bodes well for our next event.
I was also one dealer short, which meant that I had to run the tournament without assistance, as well as deal a cash table towards the end for an hour. The result was that I was not entirely happy with my own performance as Tournament Director, and I unfortunately allowed one or two stresses to get on top of me during the day. I am my own worst critic, so probably view this worse than the players did. In fact, a few went out of their way to complement me on an enjoyable day.
The lesson learnt is, in future, where I am short of dealers, I will offer one of the players (whom I know to be a competent dealer) a days wages to deal (which will cover their buy-in) and ensure that Hannah "Piranha" (my girlfriend) is available to help with rebuys, chip ups at the break, and other such TD duties. As long as I learn from my mistakes and keep striving to improve, then there is nothing wrong with making a few mistakes along the way.
With our new format kicking in from our next tournament, with an increased prize pool due to reduced costs coming out of the rebuy money, we will hopefully appeal to more local players too.
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...cont
I was happy to see two players coming across from Barrow-in-Furness. With one of their players taking the tournament down, perhaps this will ignite interest from there.
I was very grateful to Wiggy The Rigger for his help supporting me, both in some criticisms (of which there will always be some) and in his help chipping up, etc.
I was absolutely beat at the end of the day and made only a very modest income. However, we did raise £170 for a deserving local charity. I know that in any business, it takes time to build a reputation and an income.
I am in this for the long game and will now, mentally, take a break from these events until after I return from Las Vegas in October.
There is more to be done in growing the membership of the pub league too, but although I have already made some plans, these too will wait until post Las Vegas.
Did I mention I"m going to Las Vegas?
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Did I mention I"m going to Las Vegas?
when are you going?
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I fly to LAX on Friday 25th September. We drive to Las Vegas on the Saturday morning - 5 nights at The Mirage. My girlfriend"s sister is getting married in the Valley of Fire on the Tuesday.
As this is a family holiday (my step-daughter is 11) we will not be spending much time in the casinos. However, I do plan to get down to Binions for some of the daily tournaments, as they run at more suitable times for me and are within my budget.
We then drive to Williams, staying 2 nights, with a train up to the Grand Canyon for the day. I believe that the train get"s held up by cowboys!
Then we are off to Santa Monica, where my girlfriend, step-daughter and I have rented a place for a week. We plan to do Universal Studios, Hollywood, and Little Tokyo in L.A. We have booked tickets to see the L.A. Lakers in Anaheim; pre-season match.
Any advice/suggestions are welcome.
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Blog Date: 15th September, 2009
The George & Dragon - Pub Poker League
With my qualification to the Regional Final all but sealed - I now lie in second place at The Heron after a strong run in late August and a win last week - I am looking to score as much cash as I can this week and next. This will help to inflate the Vegas fund; I think I have already mentioned the holiday ;D
14 players lined up. Most of the field look like certainties for Regional Final qualification. Steggers has only played one this season, so would need a win or two. Natalie, Dave C, and two newcomers also have some serious points to put on the board over this and the remaining two games following. The Jackal is most at risk, if either Chicken Lloyd or Sam put an appearance in before the season ends.
With The Jackal (Gus) to my right for the second week in a row, a most favourable seat draw is mine. Gus loses loads of chips early on - again.
I was out in Level One. An all-in from the short-stack of 300, with 25/50 blinds, and I re-popped it to 600 with 2 earlier callers. I get a call from Rob C. Younger brother Dave gives another girmace as he folds.
My AK then looks v.strong on an A-Q-rag board, so I check-call a 600 bet. With a second diamond on the turn, I check-raise all-in after Rob puts out a 1,000 bet. Another 1,000 to call and Rob does so, flipping A8. OWNED! However, the diamond on the river makes a short night for me!! I couldn"t have played it any better, so I am happy with that.
I then decided to leave the players to it.
The Great White, "fin"ished up as the winner (it was the least obvious shark comment I could think of).
Live Running Total = +£35
I will post an update on my online play over the next few days.
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Blog Date: 17th September, 2009
The Heron - Pub Poker League
Stop Press: Heron Thursday Night"d Crew Take up Sports!
With our numbers down to only 15, from a high of 27 only a few weeks ago, I ask Faz where the regulars are spending their Thursday nights now.
With Knocker and Gav both working, Rex at kick-boxing and Sean playing football, I am gravely concerned about this change in lifestyle. It seems to me that their priorities are all wrong. Then, I am forgetting that I am a pokerholic.
I arrive late, having closed up the shop in Windermere, and with Everton vs AEK Athens on T.V. I go into live multi-table mode. The really annoying thing is that I can see the T.V. from where I am sitting, but only through a block glass partition, resulting in watching the match with a kind of fly-vision.
After legging it between T.V. and peeling a look at my hole cards, and folding them, I decide to give up on the match with 2 early goals putting Everton in control.
Card-dead, pretty much, until the final hand before the break. I pick up AQ (could have been AJ) UTG, with about 2,400 chips at 100/200 and open for 650. The Kid thinks I am at it and puts me all-in from late position with 99. I call and fail to hit. Again, the right play and I pretty much knew that my raise looked like an early position steal, with the break already being called before I saw my hole cards and making my bet.
The Kid goes on to win; a first win for the season at this venue, following on from a run of v.good results at The George & Dragon.
Live Running Toal = +£30
Online results to date will follow when I get a spare minute at home to run through them.
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Blog Date: 22nd September
The George & Dragon - Pub Poker League
To cut a long story short, I tried to steal the blinds from the SB and got called by 4 players. Check-fold.
With about 2,200 chips I raise to 600 at 100/200 with AQ and the break approaching. I get put all-in and immediately put my opponent on AK. I know these guys are loose though and factor in pocket pairs I have over-cards to and call. I run into AK and am out in 9th.
Well, my instincts are definitely proving to be reliable. I will have to cut down on the second guessing that creeps in occassionaly. I had fold equity, but I was playing 4-handed and blinds were coming round, so perhaps it was still the right move, as Rob confirmed he probably would have shoved with a mid-range pocket pair too.
Live Running Total = +25
I am now only two days away from a holiday of a lifetime....and I am starting to burst at the seams.
I have big, big plans for when I return and will be online to share them with you.
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16th October, 2009.
Re-ee-wind, "Bo-selecta"
Grab your mental fishing rod and cast your mind back to when you first fell in love/hate with poker.
The following sequence should be imagined with a blurry border, to indicate recalled memories:
I had played a little poker with my Dad and my brother, plastic toothpicks or pistachio nut shells were often used as currency in games. We played on holiday; sat on the balcony of an apartment in Corfu aged 8 being one particular memory.
The game was introduced to me as brag or variant thereof. I had no understanding of how the betting worked, but knew the hand rankings. I enjoyed the game and played occasionally...
Fast forward to Manchester 2002 and Season Five of Late Night Poker. Jac Arama, The Hendon Mob, Phil Hellmuth. I shared a house with a Physics PhD student, who was taking a year out to play online poker. We arranged home games and assigned our own nicknames. Tom was "The Swan"; often caught swan-necking a look at your holecards, despite his continued denial. "The Count", Rob was an accountant for a private firm, but had to count all his bets out in single chip denominations - I call your 200, that"s 10 (ha-ha-ha), 20 (ha-ha-ha), 30 (ha-ha-hah), 40 (ha-ha-ha)!
Saturday afternoons were then spent at an internet cafe in Withington, playing at pokerroom.com. My biggest single win being a $150 win at a $30 sng. I remeber my hands shaking from the adrenaline.
The next few years were spent playing sporadically online, mainly proving to be a break-even player. My biggest cash out was $600 from a $50 deposit, which I took to Barcelona for my 30th birthday. This was almost exclusively from playing $5 sngs, although I did not keep a record of no. of games played. Biggest MTT wins in this time were in the region of $350 with a 9th place in a 700-odd runner tournament.
Following the appearance of a national pub poker league owner on Dragon"s Den, I got into the pub poker scene, hosting a weekly game, which has now been running for 2 years. I quickly realised that I was the best player at the game, and after some early fancy play syndrome, I found the antidote and began to take a good share of the wins and cashes.
I now had an appetitie for bigger live games and got onto google, looking for any local action. I made contact with a local poker club and played at an event they held in W.Cumbria; out first hand after the rebuy period closed, with KK into AA.
Later that year, I began to run events for them, alongside my continued pub poker events. More on this in a later post...
About 12 months ago, our poker club announced their annual Leaving for Las Vegas competition, with a 5 tournament league offering a one week holiday to the WSOP 2009 with $1,500 in buy-ins, flights and accomodation at The Bellagio. The Piranha and I decided to play and took a couple of mates.
With 76 runners, I took down the opening event and covered the cost of the next four tournaments with the 1st place cash prize of £360. I then put in two reasonable results in the following tournaments to stay in the top 2 overall, with 2 guaranteed main prizes!
A new job then put me out of the 4th event, with a proxy player nominated and a very respectable finish kept me in 2nd place overall with 1 to play.
Heart-break was to follow. With something like 15 points separating me from the player two places behind me and my nearest rival out, I fell in 40th place. The 4th and 5th placed players made the final table and overtook me in the league table and my WSOP dream was over, bar a 1/50 shot at a wildcard.
Update to present day to follow...
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After following the APAT for a couple of years now, but yet to play any of the main live or online Championships, due mainly to bankroll, I have now signed up as captain of Team Carlisle for the upcoming Online National League.
I"ve just read back over my previous blogs and wow, some of the poker chat is weird. Most of what I had been playing was just so standard.
I have started a new blog, off site, following a thread I had going on a UK poker forum. I would like to link you to that now and ask for APAT members interested in my story to follow.
I will be following some of the others on here myself.
I hope to provide an interesting and entertaining read; my game has moved on, but I can"t guarantee that the attempts at humour have :).
To get you up-to-date my story really re-starts here:
For the last three months, I have been restructuring my finances (debt), holidaying in Ibiza, re-discovering a social life (offline life brag), and taking care of some other personals.
Over that time I have dabbled in a little v.low stakes online poker and a few pub games, but nothing serious. Now I"ve got myself straight and have money to reload. I now want to go about my poker in a more structured manner and have noted fellow Black Belt Poker disciples, going about their game in a similar manner.
Revisiting sitandgoplanet.com before my exodus, I took up their free four part "blueprint guide" to low-stakes STTs, and so I began stripping my game down and taking the approach as a beginner would, or possibly should. I finished up four-tabling the low stakes STTs on BBP. The result? I did my entire bankroll for the first time since I joined up last year at launch. More importantly, the cause? For those who remember, or can at least picture this, several years ago on TV"s Celebrity Fit Club, in the opening episode, BDO Darts Champion, Andy "The Viking" Fordham, took up the 100m to test his fitness. He walked about 30m before an ambulance had to be called, following his collapse on the track. I ran that good.
I also continued to play outside BRM when my roll got hit and my ROI plunged into the icy depths of sustained minus figures for the first time. I was prepared to go bust rather than play micro levels, as I believe it would have taken too long to rebuild my roll playing so low.
During this time, I worked through the blueprint and began using SNG Wizard (30 day free trial) to sharpen my ICM skills. I have now. All-in-all I believe that my bubble play is correct, despite not using the differing ranges that opponents may be playing. This is something that I will add to my game as I take notes on opponents.
Briefly, I have begun a return to the four part blueprint to recover some sections and to ensure that my game has not slipped. I have already noted one or two points that I have lost sight of when making decisions on hands.
I have also purchased Collin Moshman"s book, after someone posted their surprise that I had not already devoured, slept with, and photo-memorised the entire content of.
I have shopped around a little and I"ve found that at low stakes the rakeback on offer at the likes of Titan (ipoker) and Stars does not compare favourably with achieving and maintaining Orange Belt status with online poker"s highest kicking site, Black Belt Poker. My grind will continue on their ipoker skin and I plan to use my belt points wisely in the Dojo Sessions provided by the Black Belt Poker mentors, although I may also need a new cap to replace the one I threw in the air when out clubbing in Blackpool the other week (well, it was a tune)!
I have broken down the hours required multi-tabling to earn and sustain Orange Belt status, taking up where I left off with 4 tabling at the $5 STTs - about 10-11 hours per week.
I am going to ensure I earn my 10% reduction for forum activity, so together with updates to this unofficial blog, I will be posting and commenting on others hand dilemmas on the Black Belt Poker forum.
I plan to also play some tournaments away from the STT grind, looking for value in table selection. My local poker club has a weekly game where I think I can have a strong run in 2011, with a goal of winning the Online Player of the Year trophy and cash prize. The value increases due to the monthly $500 freeroll offered to qualifying players. Similarly, I will be returning to the Amateur Poker Association Tour for their online national league game, determined to increase the Carlisle club weekly player numbers to help us climb the league structure and win some added live seats.
I will also be using one or two other sites to qualify for some weekly/monthly freerolls, bonuses, and guaranteed tourneys with decent overlays. I believe that the competition is soft on this site and the bonuses are good for low stakes MTT players.
To further develop my game, identifying opponents tendencies through structured note taking will be built into my playing sessions, noting good ICM players and other pertinent plays and styles.
To bring me right into 2011 and the age of video training, I have requested a Deuces Cracked subscription from Santa so I can see what they have to offer and how I can use it to improve my game.
Having a goal is of huge importance when trying to achieve anything, preventing inertia and complacency of results.
My target is currently to achieve a 10% Return On Investment playing 250 STTs in December, based on four-tabling. I have not yet targeted an hourly income, but I feel like ?10 is where I would like to get to in the fairly immediate future. I have also targeted to increase to six and eight tables by the end of the month and climb the buy-in levels commensurate with a hopefully rapidly inflating bankroll
With $200 deposited on Thursday night and a short 1 hour session under my Yellow Belt I feel like now is a better time than ever to really get what I want from poker.
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Good luck with this Mark. Let"s get those Carlisle number up. :D
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Still bringing my linked blog up to date for anyone at APAT who is interested in following my online exploits.
This would particularly appeal to STT players, novices looking to improve their game, low-stakes MTT players, anyone interested in Black Belt Poker and their online offering, and anyone just interested in what I hope proves to be and entertaining and informative read.
I have always been fairly good at making plans; I haven"t always been as good at seeing them through, so they "go oft awry".
December contained several distractions, including the festivities of the season. Poker took a back seat in favour of spending some time with the family and enjoying a night or two "socialising with friends" as some idiots cite under Hobbies and Interests in their CVs or job applications. Safe to say that I have still not got my insurance to pay out on the iphone I lost sometime after dancing with a Christmas tree and playing air-guitar with a ketchup and a mustard bottle in Yates" Wine Lodge. My girlfriend may see it as retribution for the embarrassment she has had to get used to over the years.
I did get back on track in January though and managed to almost complete my monthly target of 250 STTs. However, results have not been anything to brag about and you won"t see them in the BBV section of any poker forums. I guess it is mainly down to variance, as my run last year of losing 50/50s, 60/40s, 70/30s, and even 80/20s does not seem to measure in my favour as the ratios would suggest they should.
I did have a little run, which was helped when I incorrectly recorded some results and could not work out why my ipoker account was so much lower than my results showed on my tracker. A manual recount showed that ipoker were right and I was wrong. My biggest losses have come over the last 63 games, where I have dropped about $76. After getting back to break-even at just under 900 STTs since I started playing on BlackBelt Poker"s ipoker skin, I am now showing a slight loss at just over that number of games.
I have increased to 6 tabling just recently and do not feel like this has had a negative effect on my game and most of the time I am getting my money in good and either running into a monster, or sucking out.
I will continue to work with the SnG Wizard software package to constantly refine and hone my ICM game. I am tentatively starting to take notes now on other players so I can look for ways to exploit them in late stage and bubble play and I feel that, especially against regs, this is an area I want to concentrate more on and ensure that the notes I do take are useful. I am also recording ICM findings in an easy reference spreadsheet, looking at specific situations where I am not certain of the "correct" play. When using SnG Wizard, I think it very important to remember its limitations and not to rely on it as a sole solution to your late stage and bubble problems. When you are confident in the knowledge of what an ICM calculator cannot do for you, you are more able to find the answers it can give you.
Returning to some previous strategy material, I am constantly referring back to the original source and my notes to ensure that I am always playing as optimal a game as possible. To round this off I have made a learning plan, so I can focus on areas for improvement and the material or learning sources I wish to use.
Finally, I have also been looking at adding in some MTTs and I previously mentioned one or two regular games that I want to play more when I am available. I have now started to compile a list of the daily schedules for ipoker and a couple of other sites and look at their weekly tournaments, bonuses, challenges, and special promotions.
Just before posting this month"s blog, I wanted to add that I took down a $1k GP F/O this afternoon on ipoker for $270. BBP London Live II buy-in is $275. Co-incidence?
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.....or nobody? Any love for my blog would be greatly welcomed.
Had Aesop been around today, no doubt under the monickor "_Fabulist1_" he would undoubtedly be ensuring that he feeds the goose often, lest the golden eggs stop producing.
With a plethora of learning and training medium, he who only focuses on table hours and neglects stepping back to work "on his business" will be surpassed by those who nurture their long-term propects by investing time and effort into staying one-step ahead of the field.
February"s online exploits saw me achieve two main goals; Orange Belt status with Black Belt Poker - entitling me to enter the Orange Belt freeroll (prize of a seat at a future live poker academy) in March and earn belt points at an increased rate throughout the coming month to enable me to maintain my status more easily, and doubling my 2011 starter bankroll from $200 over approximately 400 x $5 STTs - an ROI of close to 10%.
I also decided to mix in some afternoon low-stakes MTTs using a $100 deposit bonus from one of the most well-stocked online fisheries known to online poker players. 3 x 2nd place finishes saw me add another $400 to my win last month.
With the Goose starting to produce, my tail feathers are up and all I want to do is continue on the crest of the wave of improved results. However, to ensure that I do not get carried away, I will continue to pay attention to the long term.
Some reading on the Black Belt site - Gavin Hall"s "MTTPokerKa" series and two linked articles, Oliver Schmidtman"s "Introduction to Equity Calculations", and Kevin Williams" review of Deuces Cracked video "App Attack, Episode 7 - SnG Wiz" proved to be a good grounding in subjects which I had identified.
Using a tried and tested method, I am now prioritising my poker month. Last month, belt points earned on BBP enabled me to participate in one of the weekly poker Dojo sessions, hosted by Kevin Williams and Jamie Burland. I haven"t done the calculation exactly, but the "cost" in rakeback amounts to an extremely good value deal to spend an hour or two talking with these poker pros.
In March, I will be using more spending points to subscribe to Deuces Cracked and take-in some of their video training to work on further parts of my game.
Finally, something I am hugely keen on and have recently raised on the BPP forum, is what I begrudgingly call the "buddy sessions" or are known also as the "sweat sessions". To be able to hook up and chat poker, is highest on my priority list and I hope to develop one or two partnerships with BBP players and some local to me.
Work done for my local poker club is being repaid this month in the form of a complimentary seat at the monthly £50 deepstack. With 60-70 players expected on Sunday I could do with a good cash to fund me playing more of these throughout the year - I reckon that the West Cumbrian players" geese are well and truly cooked.
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and to bring this year"s up-to-date, my trip to the Wild West to play live:
A mid-month addition to my blog this week to share my adventures from a weekend in the Wild West....of Cumbria.
The journey from Kendal to Hensingham, nr Whitehaven, is not one for the faint-hearted. I arrive early to pick up Kostas (or Gus to most) looking typically hungover and going for what I can best describe as the "Nightcrawler" look - long overcoat, stubble, pasty, - rough as toast.
We spend the next two hours, after an unintentional diversion when I missed a turn off the M6, discussing tournament play - including hand selection, range, position, re-stealing, set-mining, M, structure, and exploiting opponents. Gus shows a good understanding, offers some thoughts of his own, and we arrive at 1:30pm ready for the tournament ahead.
To my delight, our dealer is delayed by an accident and I am asked to take her place, which gladly only lasts four or five hands. I settle down with my 10k stack and begin to cultivate my image as the self-titled "tightest player in Cumbria", until the Real Cumbrians take offence to Kendal"s claim to their County lines and I become "the tightest player in Westmorland".
Two hands later and the not-unexpected cry of "All-in" comes from a man who I will only name by his well-earned nickname, which I have already given you. If you gave some people a million chips with a 5/10 Level One and a two hour clock...
I pick up a few pots early on and grow my stack to 12k. With a young ipod wearing, Liverpool shirted, early raiser and two callers, I elect to call the button with KQ. Flop comes J9s7s, and our pre-flop Kopite leads for a third-pot bet with one caller, so I call again. The Q turn sees another lead for a similar size bet and I follow my flop thinking and make a 2.5x raise after the man behind me folds. Our friend from across the park takes some time to make the call. The Js river means I know I"m losing and fold to his river bet to be shown the boat.
Gus has decided to take onboard almost none of our chat, with the main purpose to help him cultivate his naturally super-aggo play with some actual reasoning to his actions, and steams up to 30k and then all the way back down again. Gus, Gus, Gus!
Down to 7.5k and with a promise to return for my chips I am delighted to be seated two to the left of "All-In". The players I leave behind at my opening table all sigh and bemoan my luck in my new position. With blinds at 100/200 before the first break looms, and an early raise from the big-stack, "All-in" makes it 3k to go. I shove and get two callers with AQ and 99. The K on the flop sees me on 22k. My Aces in the last hand just add the blinds.
Our chip leader, who having flopped a set of threes and geting paid off on turn and river bets by "All-in" with his paired deuce, secures a $50 bonus from our online sponsor, with further added money for first out and the winner.
Hand of the opening session was undoubtedly involving "All-in" again. I missed the action, but saw the face of one of his many victims of the day, who then had to go and sit in his car for ten minutes to take in what had happened. Thankfully we didn"t find him with the hosepipe in through the window! Our victim had got it in on the flop to be called with an unpaired 23, no draws. The turn and river delivered running deuces and wild celebration; chants of "We are the Champions" ensued from "All-in".
Post break, I picked up a pot three-betting some old school live donk (I jest) with AJs and other than that don"t remember too much else other than a loose UTG raise with small pocket pair that I folded on the flop. Two hands where I could have three bet against "All-in" with hands which would normally be outside my range would have delivered both a double-up and treble-up had I played a higher variance style and would have seen me breach 100k chips at 2k/4k level. My more cautious approach, however, meant that I had to fold a multitude of rags and rag-Aces in the face of earlier action as my M dwindled.
With the second break looming, "All-in" provides further hysterics when he berates a young lad to his left, who looked like he had just been told his dog had died, when facing not only a decision for his tournament life, but also a barrage of "I"ve no respect for you" and other banterage. He eventually folded his paired A weak-kicker, on a dry board, and "All-in" delighted in showing his paired K with more crys of victory sounding across the room.
With my returning stack now hitting 14 BBs and then down to 7BB, I called the short stacks 4 BB shove with my Q4 to see 62 and lose to the paired 2. My last 4 BBs get in against Q8 and lose to the paired 8.
The final half-hour in Whitehaven provided my final entertainment for the evening - I had a flat battery. Firstly, I employed two piss-heads to help me push the car across the carpark, narrowly avoiding rolling it straight into not one, but two vehicles. I then needed some light shining so I could see both bonnets, to connect jump leads. Fair play to the commitment of Lammy, who after I asked him to help out, replied "I have no lights". "Not a torch", I said, "your headlights". "I have no headlights either". I jabbed his ribs, cottoning on to his rouse and waited outside. When his car rolled past with no lights on and they told me they were driving 30-odd miles to Carlisle without them and disappeared half way up the road; Gus and I shared an incredulous look. They returned with headlights beaming. When you just want to get home (1.5 hours away) you can rely on poker players to seize the opportunity to make your evening more painful ;)
With jump leads unsuccessful, I was finally towed down the hill, only after forgetting to set off in neutral before sticking it in 2nd gear, and then forgetting to turn my key and thus locking the steering. A local took pity (more likely just thought I was a complete dildo) and jumped in and got my car started.
Thanks go the Cavalry, and to whoever was stood at the gated entrance and then spectacularly fell into the hedge letting out a fantastic drunken groan as they struggled to the feet, as I continued to ponder my own predicament: you know who you are; although possibly not actually.
With wolves howling at the moon and tumbleweeds rolling through the streets on the journey home, thank God I never stalled the van. Then I really would have found out how wild it is out West.
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Things turn sour in the STT grind, and dilemnas pour from the heavens:
March has been a four-letter expletive of a month.
The STT grind has become much less enjoyable, with a 30 BI downswing currently a work still in progress. I decided that, upon doubling my reload bankroll to $400, that I would step-up to the $10 plate and 4-6 table in a bid to double up again. After noticing a single turbo table registering at any one time on ipoker during my evening playing-time slot I decided to seek out a rival site, look for a good deposit bonus, focus on the stock-filled fishing holes rather than the bigger brands, and continue in a nice upward curve.
Party seemed to be a good place to down-rod, so I found a 100% match bonus and calculated that in the required period I would be able to clear around $300-$350 worth of that bonus. Unfortunately, it seems that I then made a mistake and got caught between two bonus offers, ending up using a code which gave me $25 in my account from day one, with another $25 to follow from points earned, with a one month subscription to UK Poker News"s video training site - which would be a nice benefit had I not just bought a one month subscription to Decues Cracked with a token through belt points earned from Black Belt Poker.
I then proceeded to smash my way through the typical, though none-the-less sickening, STT downswing, made only more bearable by Kevin Williams sharing some results he had over 2k games on Stars with those who took his excellent Dojo session, entitled "Winning STTs One Hand at a Time". For those who haven"t and are playing their poker on Black Belt Poker"s skin, I highly recommend using some of your points to access one of these live skype sessions. Kevin in particular is first-class in his delivery, subject knowledge, and providing answers to questions. The main point was that a 50BI downswing over a larger winning sample of games is not to be unexpected.
Dilemnas then began to present themselves to me in spades. Would I continue to play the $10 games to try and access my bonus (at this stage I had not discovered my bonus code error) and ride out the downswing, as dropping to the $5 games on Party is not an option with their rake at that level being double that of ipoker"s? Would I ignore my lost bonus opportunity and take my roll back to Black Belt, qualify for Orange belt status again, and spin up again from the $5 levels and manage my STT bankroll as I should be? Or, would I use some of my MTT winnings to give my STT roll a boost, ride out the downswing, and with continued work on my game through ICM analysis have the heart to continue with my original plan for 2011 and put 3k STTs on the board?
Sometimes the best advice is the most simple; Sam Razavi gave this line in response to a query I raised on the Black Belt forum boards "My advice in general would be to find the game that you make most money at and focus your efforts on that. GL" Food for thought indeed, but of course the paradox is that to win at STTs you have to be prepared to lose, on occassions at least as much as 50 BIs.
The one thing that I think the Dojo session confirmed is that since this time last year the work I have put in away from the tabels and the game-time I have put in at the tables has gained me a good understanding of ICM and the low-level STT games. The focus should always be on volume first, rather than targetting results or income. As long as I continue to play well and refine my ICM game there is definitely money to be made, but with a continuing set of positive results at the low-stakes MTTs and a few near misses at adding to my win in the $1k GP I am considering switching to these and away from the STT grind, although I have to consider I am probably on the good side of variance over my small sample size.
To finish the month off I played the Orange belt freeroll last night on Black Belt; two seats available, worth £150 each, at an Academy day at London"s Victoria Casino and an opportunity to finally meet some of the team and fellow players. I raised a lot of pots early and took them down, in the main unchallenged, to slowly grow my stack and take up 2nd spot. With only sixteen players, includign four sit-outs, I started to think about winning a seat. When I found a flush draw with an over-card to the flop and doubled-up when putting my opponent all-in I held the chip lead and I regained it in time for the 2nd break. However, after missing an earlier similar spot, I finally fell in 5th place when getting it in with A9 vs an utg raise with K9from the loosest player at the tournament and seeing two kings hit the board.
My volume has suffered throughout March, probably due to my downswing and not feeling comfortable playing on Party (it"s hard to settle in when you"re just losing) and I need to clear my mind, re-focus my efforts, make some decisions after dwelling on them sufficiently, and kick-start things back into action. A curve-ball has just been thrown my way in the last few days, but I"ll discuss that in a future blog.
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.....or nobody? Any love for my blog would be greatly welcomed.
I confess I have read it but you might like to consider copying the content of each post to here rather than just linking.
I know that"s what I do.
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If it"ll get more readers Paulie then sure. I just linked it as I link it on more than just the APAT forum.
I"ll cut and paste the blog posts into the relevant sections and see how that goes.
Thanks for looking in.
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It"s My Party And I"ll Cry If I Want To
March has been a four-letter expletive of a month.
The STT grind has become much less enjoyable, with a 30 BI downswing currently a work still in progress. I decided that, upon doubling my reload bankroll to $400, that I would step-up to the $10 plate and 4-6 table in a bid to double up again. After noticing a single turbo table registering at any one time on ipoker during my evening playing-time slot I decided to seek out a rival site, look for a good deposit bonus, focus on the stock-filled fishing holes rather than the bigger brands, and continue in a nice upward curve.
Party seemed to be a good place to down-rod, so I found a 100% match bonus and calculated that in the required period I would be able to clear around $300-$350 worth of that bonus. Unfortunately, it seems that I then made a mistake and got caught between two bonus offers, ending up using a code which gave me $25 in my account from day one, with another $25 to follow from points earned, with a one month subscription to UK Poker News"s video training site - which would be a nice benefit had I not just bought a one month subscription to Decues Cracked with a token through belt points earned from Black Belt Poker.
I then proceeded to smash my way through the typical, though none-the-less sickening, STT downswing, made only more bearable by Kevin Williams sharing some results he had over 2k games on Stars with those who took his excellent Dojo session, entitled "Winning STTs One Hand at a Time". For those who haven"t and are playing their poker on Black Belt Poker"s skin, I highly recommend using some of your points to access one of these live skype sessions. Kevin in particular is first-class in his delivery, subject knowledge, and providing answers to questions. The main point was that a 50BI downswing over a larger winning sample of games is not to be unexpected.
Dilemnas then began to present themselves to me in spades. Would I continue to play the $10 games to try and access my bonus (at this stage I had not discovered my bonus code error) and ride out the downswing, as dropping to the $5 games on Party is not an option with their rake at that level being double that of ipoker"s? Would I ignore my lost bonus opportunity and take my roll back to Black Belt, qualify for Orange belt status again, and spin up again from the $5 levels and manage my STT bankroll as I should be? Or, would I use some of my MTT winnings to give my STT roll a boost, ride out the downswing, and with continued work on my game through ICM analysis have the heart to continue with my original plan for 2011 and put 3k STTs on the board?
Sometimes the best advice is the most simple; Sam Razavi gave this line in response to a query I raised on the Black Belt forum boards "My advice in general would be to find the game that you make most money at and focus your efforts on that. GL" Food for thought indeed, but of course the paradox is that to win at STTs you have to be prepared to lose, on occassions at least as much as 50 BIs.
The one thing that I think the Dojo session confirmed is that since this time last year the work I have put in away from the tabels and the game-time I have put in at the tables has gained me a good understanding of ICM and the low-level STT games. The focus should always be on volume first, rather than targetting results or income. As long as I continue to play well and refine my ICM game there is definitely money to be made, but with a continuing set of positive results at the low-stakes MTTs and a few near misses at adding to my win in the $1k GP I am considering switching to these and away from the STT grind, although I have to consider I am probably on the good side of variance over my small sample size.
To finish the month off I played the Orange belt freeroll last night on Black Belt; two seats available, worth £150 each, at an Academy day at London"s Victoria Casino and an opportunity to finally meet some of the team and fellow players. I raised a lot of pots early and took them down, in the main unchallenged, to slowly grow my stack and take up 2nd spot. With only sixteen players, includign four sit-outs, I started to think about winning a seat. When I found a flush draw with an over-card to the flop and doubled-up when putting my opponent all-in I held the chip lead and I regained it in time for the 2nd break. However, after missing an earlier similar spot, I finally fell in 5th place when getting it in with A9 vs an utg raise with K9from the loosest player at the tournament and seeing two kings hit the board.
My volume has suffered throughout March, probably due to my downswing and not feeling comfortable playing on Party (it"s hard to settle in when you"re just losing) and I need to clear my mind, re-focus my efforts, make some decisions after dwelling on them sufficiently, and kick-start things back into action. A curve-ball has just been thrown my way in the last few days, but I"ll discuss that in a future blog.
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Always the Bridesmaid, Never The Bride
Long summer days in the sun, drawn out evenings having drinks in the park, weekends in the Lakes, the local festival scene - just a few things that I can look forward to missing out on again this Summer as I grind a 60 hour week at the bookies, earning a living - of sorts.
Of course, it is times like this that you look around you and think "why am I doing this" and "how do I do less and make more money" and playing online poker may offer some alternative to the bad beat of a minimum wage employed existence.
I wanted to continue to refine and define my focus this month and after an attempt to get something going with some of the community members on Black Belt Poker playing MTTs, I decided, after a short break, to put a post on their boards calling out to the low-stakes STT players. Inspired by boyhood TV heros the A-Team, I set out to form a crack-unit of STT commandos, to work alongside to smash a return over the coming months.
I put in some time thinking about the purpose of the exercise (to maximise returns), how we could benefit from working with each other (pooled learning, different views and experience, software knowledge, game and opponent knowledge) and I also wanted to take a look at whether we could find a mentor. The mentor route is something I feel we could do as a group and I have some ideas which I will detail next time.
Initially, take up has been good and five serious players showed an interest in taking this forward. With Hannibal already bagsied by me, someone is going to have to be the girl who Face sex-pests each week, as we can"t handle having two B.As.
I laid out a few very detailed messages asking for a commitment from all the players involved; to commit to playing time and learning time each week and a regular skype session - to share resources, ideas, notes, strategy, hand reviews, etc.
With work taking an increasing part of my week over the Summer, I have to look at when I can fit in 8 hours of playing time and a couple of hours studying/hand reviewing each week. This now involves sitting down with The Piranah, getting Google Calendar up on screen, and booking in the sessions for the week ahead. Family time and the joy of household tasks (which I actually find quite thereaputic at times) are also discussed and planned.
Our first skype session completed last Sunday, with Rod Hall and Adam Saunders present and some plans made. We also have a BBP pro interested in joining us, who confessed that his sleeping hours may differ to the rest of us and hence fell of my online radar for a few days, and a fifth community member who offerd his apologies for missing our opening session. More on them if they do join our next session.
Following, Rod Hall and I then decided to exchange some hand histories and set about tearing each others game apart, looking for missed edges, exploitable opponents, and hoping that two minds can achieve more than one. I have to give this experience the highest praise, it"s simply the best work I have ever done in looking at my game. We both put in several hours of work, utilising SnGWiz too, and it was insightful to see how we both have different strengths: Rod brings a more detailed approach to his game using HEM and SngWiz to a greater extent than I. I hope I have given him some food for thought in return.
There is much more to discuss in our skype sessions and I can see some parts of a clear path of progression over the coming weeks and months.
To close with STTs for now, I had two very productive sessions during this last week and am now hitting ~20% ROI, although I know only too well that my sample size of 100games means this is not to say that my long-term figure will be as impressive.
Going back to my original attempts to get something going along a similar line for MTTs, I reviewed my post as I had been less specific about what I wanted from players. Without wanting to take on too mcuh much at once, I will likely come back to this in the not too distant future.
However, I have continued to play at least one afternoon per week of MTTs, usually starting at 10:30am on ipoker and playing a few elsewhere. And again I hit a 2nd place finish from a field of just over 100 runners. I just can"t win a heads-up battle, and am rueing not having enough points to take the Heads-Up Dojo session, with Black Belt player "Werrrrd". However, Chris "Jesus" Ferguson made a big noise about his free-rolling $1k challenge. That"s nowt! From a total outlay of $0 I have now spun that into $1k since February.
Back to the day job; I am looking at how I can start to realise some different income streams with a goal to build enough to be able to quit my job, so poker aside for a moment I am looking at other online opportunities.
I have been reading a book by a guy who has realised his own "Plan B", which is to make money for himself, providing his targetted income in as little time spent as possible thus freeing up more time to spend with his family and doing the more fulfilling things in life. Some of what I am looking into includes affiliate programmes, which will no doubt include some poker affiliates. I have also been inspired to overhaul my blog into something much more remarakable than it is in its current format and hope to be able to present something to you in May or June.
At time of writing, I also received notification by text of a job opportunity which I hope to be interviewed for next week, which would mean a "normal" working week after two years in this crappy job.
I continue to work closely with the owner of a poker club in Cumbria and have some exciting news regarding a partnership we have struck with my favourite online poker site. I will hold back on further details until I get the OK. Through perserverance over a 12 month period I instigated the deal and now hope through my continued involvement with the club we can grow our membership, increase the quality of our, already first-class, poker offering to to our members, make a noise in the UK live poker scene, and perhaps get another income stream working for me.
Just to set a few things straight, you can put your violins away now. I have got a festival booked for my upcoming 35th birthday, a stag party at Chester Races for a friend in May and the wedding follwing in June, and a few other social occassions booked throughout the Summer. My life is not all poker-work-poker.
I"d like to sign-off with some very exciting news, quite probably the biggest of my 35 years so far. In November, I"m going to become a Dad for the first time. I already have a beautiful 13 year old step-daughter, who this year will be getting a little Brother or Sister on her birthday - if our estimated due date proves to be accurate.
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Congratulations on the impending arrival and good luck with the rest of your efforts
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I posted this at the end of May and wasn"t sure anybody would be interested in it. Someone might want to pass five minutes though...
Do I Look Bothered
I"ve been thinking, again - dangerous, I know. Sometimes I wonder whether it would be easier not to, but then I think of another thing. Stupid brain.
There is/has been much going on in the worlds of online and live poker. There was lots going on in the last month or so, there is a lot going throughout June and July and I dare say, there is more stuff about to happen right after that. As an extremely vague reference, it reminds me of a quote someone took (perhaps it was Stewart Lee"s stand-up routine on "toilet books") where Jordan, or perhaps Jade Goody, said on the cover of their autobiography "her life was just a series of one thing after another".
Some of these events both past, present, and future have been commented on as being somewhere between not good at all and not so good, whilst others are in the range of good to very good. Apparently, a lot of it depends.
What all of these things have in common, when I read about them is that almost all of what has happened or is going to happen has virtually no effect on me whatsoever.
For those who are interested you will have already found many other blogs covering the details, some of which I have read and found interesting none-the-less.
I don"t play poker on Full Tilt or Stars.
I have not made any attempt to qualify via any satellites for the WSOP - now in full swing. Neither did I have any intentions to get out there this Year (although that is not to say I won"t in future years). I"m probably not bothered who wins what either; certainly anyone outside of the Black Belt team anyway.
I do not follow live or online pros much, the NVG thread on 2P2 proving particularly uninteresting mostly. It"s all a bit Hollyoaks to me. Someone said something to someone else and they didn"t like what was said. Am I bothered?
When you spend a lot of your spare time on forums or other internet sites (to pass a very uninspiring and quiet working day) you are presented with a mass of information. We are very much living in the Information Age. The downside is, much of the information has no benefit to me other than giving me something to do other than listening to the racing tannoy all day.
So, back to the thinking bit. I have been considering all that goes on in the worlds of poker and how many other players are like me? Perhaps, I am a sort of Everyman of poker?
I like to play online mainly, due to the accessibility of games at stakes I like and the low-cost, when compared to live poker. I don"t play home games much any more. I don"t go to the casino, as my nearest one is often too far, as I have little spare time/spare cash to play there. I do like to play the odd live game, although the nearest decent monthly games are 50+ miles and £100 day out. The local pub poker scene is quiet and I prefer the fast-pace of online to these games anyway. If I do play it is more for the social occassion than the poker.
I put in a concerted and focused effort to improve my game and I want o get better and win more often and more money. It"s probably quite a lot more than a lot of the lads I know locally who play pub poker and a bit of online poker. It will also be a lot less than plenty of other players who I talk with on forums, who are not professional poker players.
I play NLH. I don"t play any variants. I play STTs and MTTs online at low-stakes; no cash poker. So I focus on a game that I think is beatable and I can get better at and I practice table selection, insofar as I play at sites and in games where I think I have an edge.
I am keen to look out for promotions and to climb the belt levels at Black Belt Poker, but working 60 hours per week and not returning home until 10pm 4 or 5 days puts paid to participating in many.
My poker goals remain fairly modest. In an alternative reality I would be a poker superstar. In reality I would be more than happy to make enough to take the family on a fabulous holiday every year or put a few grand away for some other purpose. As long as my time vs reward is decent, I tick along. Somewhere in-between I would like poker to form one of a number of income streams providing enough so I don"t have to continue the day job anymore.
To this end, and to give this blog some purpose, I refer back to the ideas I have been having to start up those other income streams (currently, the online MTTs I have been playing have provided an acceptable time vs profit reward).
I"m certain that there are is a mass-market of poker players who just like to play some poker and there it ends. They don"t care about the global online poker market. They don"t follow any of the poker pros. They don"t have any concerted aspirations to go to Las Vegas for the WSOP each year. They are not hugely driven by rakeback deals or poker promotions.
Of course, there is so much competition for online players, so many promotions, sign-up offers, leagues, leaderboards, satellites, rakeback deals, training options, etc. Many players have little time or inclination to sift through and find what is good for them.
Too much information can paralyse people when it comes to having to make a choice. In many cases, choice does not make people happy.
Some-what paradoxically, I am talking about delivering something that those players who don"t care, do care about. I think that when I look at myself and my approach to online poker I may have an answer to that. More paradioxically, the hard part will be getting people to choose it.
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As it"s Online National League day, I thought I"d bump this to see if I can get any love at all.
I will catch up on the other bloggers next week.
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An alternative view on last month"s and an eye on more live poker:
Watching While Others Win
Snoopy, Black Belt Poker"s roving (rover?) reporter delivered a fantastic series of live blogs from the WSOP over the last month or so. I have been taking my iPhone to the bog in the morning and ceremoniously checking out the updated exploits of the BBP team. The Main Event has been particularly enjoyable.
I also got to watch Sam Razavi"s Final Table appearance, after enduring about six weeks of the high rollers event, on the TV coverage of the Aussie Millions. It was worth the wait...(for those who haven"t seen the "coverage" all I can say is the UKIPT Cork event should be a little more entertaining).
Then I found myself tracking Werrrrd and Mike Shaw in the UKIPT Brighton updates online this weekend. I also followed Werrrrd"s tweets, which was fun. I can highly recommend the Werrrrd translator for anyone who struggles with the lingo. In fact, thinking about it (and I don"t know Mr Drew other than through his online persona) is he not absolutely made for Twitter? I mean, 90 characters should do him for most of his talking day right? (Please someone who does know Tom back me up here as I fear I may be taking the piss without the appropriate license).
I"ve also noted the amazing value that BBP offered to those who played the BBP London Live II event, with a Vegas freeroll for all attendeees. The WSOP Warrior Master League saw another, Hasmukh Khodiyara, and Mega Satellites more, in fact Greg Moore - who made $50k+ profit and bagged a return seat next year due with further thanks to the BBP value range (not to be compared to Tesco"s or other inferior value ranges).
I also keep my eye on the BBP boards and Carey Hollick, surely her middle name should be poker, by all accounts seems to always do well at the sats.
So, all of this got me back to thinking about my last blog post, about whether I really care about playing bigger events or what goes on away from my own small-stakes online activity. There has been some discussion on the boards of late about the strength of fields at the bigger MTTs and I"m starting to wonder if I could mix it. I"m also well aware that some bad players run good at these events and go deep and you have to be in it to have a chance of the run (no reference to any of the aforementioned BBP guys;)
I also miss out on a lot of local live events, where I reckon, without any deep thought on the matter, that I have an edge and am probably better than at least half the field and no worse than hardly anyone there.
So, I think when I have got another 6 months under my belt and ploughed through some DC videos, got some more online MTTs under my belt and if I can keep on improving then I"m going to try and get myself into some live poker next year. Of course, the BBP badge seems to be some sort of charm at the moment and I hope to get a little bit of good fortune to help me.
On DC videos, I have just taken up MTT Principles with daaaaaang16. I just hope the series picks up after #1 and #2. It is not so much the content, more the delivery. He confesses to being new to presenting videos, but he seems under prepared and spends a lot of time pausing and swallowing a rising beltch. His tone is pretty dreary too. Poor when compared to some Dojos I have attended online and I would be personally pretty embarrased if I had put these first two out myself.
It looks like Latoya Flewellen has got a good thing going with regards to sweat sessions and some other stuff she has thought out for the BBP community members. I have been previously involved with some attempts to get some things going along these lines with some success and some difficulties too. Latoya has really got hold of this by the scruff of the neck and her contact with the BBP community so far has been excellent. This has definitely got legs and is another great opportunity to better your game. I will be fully onboard and getting involved with this wherever I can.
To get away from poker for a short minute, The Piranah and I found out that our baby will be a boy, so obviously I am looking for Everton babygros and am already planning all sorts in my head. I want to impart all my knowledge and worldly wisdom (stop smirking) and really want to teach my lad all I can and give him the best grounding and foundation to build his own life. I love getting involed in anything my step-daughter is learning about. I was thinking of some basic maths the other day: "you have a flush draw on the turn and your opponent has lead for a three-quarter pot bet into 400. Calculate your pot odds, and your EV should you call and get him to call a pot-sized bet should you hit on the river".
To close, we have been discussing names, paging through baby name websites. We are looking for something different. I have Spanish parentage and we are drawn to Spanish first names; had it been a girl we had some really nice ones picked out which had some other meanings that hit with what we wanted. The boys names I"m not so enamoured with on the whole. We are going with The Piranah"s Father"s name for the middle name - John. Roscoe is leading the day for the first name. Please let me know if you think this sounds good or whether our son will grow up hating us for saddling him with this monicker for life. I"m already aware of the The Dukes of Hazard reference.
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Back to Blackboard
Some people advocate just putting practical time in at the tables over time spent pouring over strategy articles, forums, hand posting, and training videos. I think I work better when I take a methodical approach to advancing my knowledge and understanding of the game and then consider its practical application and add one buidling block at a time.
A few people, myself included, have used the Black Belt Poker fourm to share their frustrations of either playing bad, running bad, or a bit of both. Some have confessed to putting in hours upon hours of time working on their game and having nothing to show for their efforts by way of an inflated bankroll or financial withdrawls. I certainly had a frustrating time when playing 1300 single-table tournaments since last Summer, with not a single dollar to show as a profit.
Firstly, I think that one area that poker players really need to learn and understand is the variance associated with the games that they play. Learn and accept that as part of the game and you will play with a clearer mind that if you are playing a winning strategy, you will come good. I think it"s also very important to have some realistic expectations, without setting financial goals, in poker. If you expect, because you have won say $100 over 30 $5 STTs to make $3,000 over 1000 games then you need to think again.
Also, I think it is important to think about the type of poker you play and whether or not you have the ability to live with the variance that that particular game-type and format delivers. 6-max cash or full-ring cash? PLO vs NLH vs FLH. Turbo STTs, 180-mans, DoNs, or MTTs. There are lots of options and it pays to spend some time understanding why one may suit you over another. Also, if you only have one or two sessions per week and play only one table, do not expect to make much money at micro-cash, for example.
For me, I played STTs for a few reasons. I wanted to reach and attain Orange belt level on the Black Belt Poker rewards system and felt this would be achievable multi-tabling in the time I had made available for poker each week, but only if I played the turbos, rather than the standard format. I also felt comfortable with the structure as I was working on my ICM game and wanted to get to this stage of the tournament more quickly where I felt my edge would be.
I switched to MTTs afterwards, as I had started to learn how the variance worked and realised I would really need to be playing a much larger volume of STTs than I could now commit too and could not live with putting in another 6-12 month period with the potential to make little or no money. If I have the time to play somewhere nearer 500 games per month than I might return to them.
With MTTs I"ve found that, at the lower-stakes, I have started to spin up a nice bankroll and observing the play of my average opponent in these games, feel that I can sustain a pretty high ROI and actually see some money in the bank.
So now you have considered variance and found a game that can deliver you some considered and realistic expectations, what about developing your game? Well, as I alluded to earlier, I firmly believe in a careful and methodical approach.
I think some players, as I certainly have, may suffer from trying to swim in the ocean of poker knowledge that exists out there, rather than firstly putting on your armbands and getting in the learners" pool. I have been watching some Deuces Cracked videos. It is not just about listening to the ideas and watching the hand examples. It"s also about really understanding when to apply that knowledge, and when not to. What are the nuances to look out for that signal now is the time to pull that particular move? What will you do when something from left-field comes at you that was not covered in the classroom representation you have been shown? I have watched each video twice, going back to take some personal notes and find that this is when the new information really starts to click into place.
Like all good theory it is not an answer in itself and this is where the advocates for learning by putting it into practice comes into the equation for me. Now it is time to start to adopt your new knowledge and to allow the teachings to influence your in-game decisions; little by little. If you are playing MTTs, like I am, perhaps you might want to begin by looking at whether you"re always c-betting when you should and considering all the various factors that the board, pre-flop action, position, stack sizes, and opponent reads can throw into the mix and influence that choice. Maybe you want to learn how to use a Heads-up Display like Hold'em Manager or Poker Tracker. Or you may want to get into calculating equity and utilising pokerstove. Whatever area you choose to work on, focus on that area alone.
I am certainly not afraid to strip my game bare and never over-estimate my ability in any one area. OK, I think my ICM game and short-stacked game is pretty good from having played a good volumes of STTs, but it could improve. I think my pre-flop hand selection is good, but I definitely don"t play optimally pre-flop. Be honest about your game and it"s weaknesses.
When adopting new strategies also ensure that you are not getting ahead of yourself by building a complex game strategy where a more simpler approach will be more effective. No point in adopting level four thinking when you are playing someone who only understands level one or two thinking. As Nik Persaud tells us in his excellent Fundamental Theorem of Poker lecture series on Black Belt Poker, always play at one level above your opponent.
The other learning material I have been educating myself with has been Nik"s lecture series. I take a highlighter, read and re-read the section that I struggle with first time round (some of the maths takes me two or three reads) and then I take my own notes to refer back to. Again, I"m prepared to put in the time and effort to properly understand each concept and not just read it once and claim to have been elightened as to a new way to win at poker.
Currently, my biggest driver has been my self-motivation. I think that this brings everything together for me. I know what I want, I have a fair idea of what I need to do to get it, and I make a committed decision to do just that. I also make sure that I keep a balance and ensure that there is time for other important achievements.
I have just returned to learning Spanish, so have a couple of sessions per week teaching myself something which I should have done long ago, being of Spanish descent. I am also ensuring I have time for some physical exercise after too many years being mostly inactive. The nursery and other home improvements have taken up a fair amount of time too and the expenditure has been one of the motivating factors behind my focus on improving my poker game and delivering some returns. Having a new addition to the family less than four months away certainly has provoked me into taking action.
Good luck to anyone who continues to work for their goals. Just remember also that the road to success is littered with failure. As long as you remain committed to the end result, but flexible in your approach to achieve it, and learn from the mistakes you make on the way, then all of us can get what we want from this game of poker and life.
To finish with this month, I am very excited to announce a partnership between Black Belt Poker and Northern Poker Stars of West Cumbria. I have worked with the private members" poker club for several years in a number of areas inculding, hosting live tournaments, promoting events, running their Facebook page and delivering web content. I first contacted Neil Channing when he was at the Aussie Millions 2010 to tell him about Northern Poker Stars. I wasn"t sure at this stage what I wanted from him, but Neil assured me to be patient as there would be something of interest to us in the future.
I contacted Neil again some months later and then waited until after the Aussie Millions 2011, and the appointment of Chris Edwards to make progress towards a deal. I convinced NPS owner, Ken Johston, that Black Belt were the coolest kids on the block and some eighteen months later we have agreed a partnership for BBP to not only host our online games, but also to bring some very exclusive live events to the poker players of Cumbria. We have some strong players who have had some decent live tournament results at DTD, UKIPT, GUKPTs, etc.
I have endured a lot of criticism, obstacles, and much worse in my endeavours to bring legalised poker tournaments to various locations within my local area. Northern Poker Stars have continued to enjoy increasing success in the West of Cumbria and in Carlisle, culmintating, this July, in our largest, and Cumbria"s only ever five-figure, prize pool (our nearest casinos are in Tyneside or Lancashire).
I now believe that all the hardwork and knocks have been worth taking and I look forward to being at the forefront of continuing to bring the best in live and online poker to our local players.
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Very well done on the organising front - nice one, hope you are getting the recognition for that.....
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Winkers
I"ve been left wondering if there"s much to blog about over the last couple of months, as I"m only playing the odd bit of online poker, with a single trip to the pub for a game which never really happened.
As I"ve been involved in the local pub poker scene for several years now, I often get asked to come to games as I know a lot of players locally who may have interest and I have plenty of tables, chips, cards, etc. I"ve just realised whilst typing that not once have I mentioned my enigmatic personality and searing wit as any reason for the invite! I haven"t got out to a local game for a while due to working unsociable hours and preferring to spend my poker playing time online, with much better rewards on offer. I ended up taking longer to get my equipment to the pub, setting up the game, blind structure, and rallying players, only to find six of us sitting down for a £5 game. Of course, 99 v QQ was no good and shoving AKs into Aces ensured an early return home.
Online, I have been continuing to hit the MTT tables and I am continuing to have next to no luck. The most interesting of these games was my local poker clubs fortnightly online league game. The numbers are only usually around 15 each time, but we think we will improve this next year with some league changes, an adjustment to the format, lower buy-in, and some added prizes for those playing the league. We also think we have a formula which means players will keep playing right throughout the entire season, or at least most of it.
The first hand, which caused some controversy and about half-an-hour of debate following, saw me pick up AQs and open with a call behind and a 3-bet from the blinds. I had been reasonably aggressive at this point. I elected to flat call.
The flop brought me the flush draw and two overcards and I raised the lead from the blinds to be set all-in, after the player behind me folded, for about 2:1. I reckon I have 12 outs, so call. I took some extended berating for some time afterwards when I made the best hand, but not from my opponent. I then continued to cultivate an aggressive image and my main tormentor took to further berating when I had the cheek to call with A7 blind on blind and check-call the A high board vs air. I did play one hand poorly on the river, further justifying my tormentor as he filled up on the river and I raised when a call was the only play. The fact that I then got him to put it in from the BB with JT vs my utg Aces seemed lost, and when he made a straight on the turn card I "got what I deserved for going after him and variance will bite me on the ass if I continually target his blinds and he decides to with a hand."
Now the real dilemna is whether I send him a link to this blog. If he wasn"t 6"4", of "brick ****house" build, and my boss at our local poker club... The text the next morning asking if I had got over it and further comments on our website results page have obviously helped me to swallow seeing another potential MTT score slip away when I got it in with the best of it. (PS - I"m no longer using smileys so it"s up to the reader, including the boss, to detect any levels of sarcasm, or tongue-in-cheek remarks).
The game I have been most excited about playing regularly is a team game for which I put myself forward as captain at the start of 2011. This has involved recuruting players each and every Round, hijacking them in the chatbox on Facebook, posting private meesages and wall posts, and generally hounding them down to register for the game.
My team closed in on the top spot last time out with a win and 3 points. I had missed two rounds previously. I had become frustrated with some poor administration from the poker room they use and a later start time of 9pm had given me enough time to get a bit tilted from a previous game and I decided not to play. The following week, a long ten day work schedule had left me on empty by the Sunday and team numbers had dropped right off. The following week I had a word with myself and bounced back as team captain and got a team together with an impassioned rallying cry and they rewarded me well.
A single win last night could have put us level with top spot, dependant on other teams final places. I got off to my usual steady start. I seem to get a lot of respect in these games and don"t get played back at too much. I ended up denting my stack with TT v QQ. After some aggression I then ran AKs into Aces and that left me concentrating on a good start to my other Sunday night regular game - the $4k GP on ipoker. Our team of eight posted four top 18 finishes, where the points are on offer, and we ended up finishing 2nd place. A team from north of the border opened up another one point gap above us and we remain three adrift of them, two behind 2nd place, and a single point behind two others in 3rd.
The $4k usually pulls about 800 players and I run like a one-legged pigeon in this game usually. I have a single min-cash to console myself with thus far, after playing these for the last few months on and off. Last night I found QQ utg and got an insta-shove and flat-call behind so got my chips and had the best part of a treble-up against AK and 66. Top 30 in the first couple of levels.
The rest of the tournament went fairly smoothly. 3-bets were getting through. Flop c-bets were getting it done. I had QQ twice more, but got no action. So I just chipped up steadily and stayed above the average at the first two breaks.
I then lost with 77 v AT, but good aggression got my stack moving again and Aces beat 77 to get me back above avg. I then dropped my stack to 13 bbs with A8 losing to 77. Ultimately, I ended up losing with AJ v A7 and returned $12.03 with a finish around 70th.
Our partnership with Black Belt Poker is now starting to deliver some really exciting benefits for both of us and we have just recently agreed to bring a very special event to our players in Cumbria in February 2012.
Neil Channing will be hosting, what I believe to be the very first, Black Belt Academy outside of The Vic, London. The terms we negotiated with Chris Edwards have been very fair and I continue to speak so highly of all at BBP as the evidence keeps on presenting itself. We will follow in the afternoon with our monthly £25/£25 double chance tournament , with Neil staying on to play and add some value for our Orange belt players. We hope to see a massive turnout for both.
After at least 12 months of job searching, an opportunity has fallen into my lap. The bookies I work for has been purchased by Gala Coral. I will work for Coral Racing, my day-to-day job being largely unchanged, but the terms and conditions have improved considerably. Did someone say that Coral are sponsoring Late Night Poker now? There really should be a wink following that last sentence.