Wednesday, 16 May 2007
Paradise more gains.
Tried again at Poker Stars last night and again suffered a terrible connection. No worries, off to paradise. Two seperate sessions both end up with me almost up a buy-in. With an additional US$10 of bonus cleared I am US$62 to the good so can't complain. Neither poker Tracker nor Poker Office work there which means I have to pay a bit more attention but still seem to be managing. I believe I can import hands retrospectively though email so may be able to pull some stats later.
Tuesday, 15 May 2007
Paradise Lost. Paradise won.
I noticed on Bonuwhores.com that Poker Stars were offering a double the normal player point promotion. They offer a US$50 bonus for joining which works our at US$1 an hour playing 25NL. Not the best bonus around and even with double points promotion it makes it reasonable but not spectacular. Cranked it up and deposited US$100. The connection was very ropey though and I was disconnected in the middle of a couple of hands (fortunately pre-flop). I thought I would quit before it happened in a decent sized pot but still ,managed to leave S$5 up. All dressed up with nowhere to play. Bah.
I'd previously deposited US$150 in Paradise Poker but had lost US$35 and with Poker Office not working on the site I'd decided Party even without bonii would be more profitable. I sparked up a 25NL table (5 handed). I thought I'd try it out with Poker Tracker. I was making little progress with getting Poker Tracker to work and was US$8 down and considering leaving then I caught a hand. Raised QJ on the button up to $1. Two callers. I was being floated a lot so rather than checking and waiting for someone to catch up I bet out and sure enough get a caller. Turn was a 5. I bet half pot hoping to keep him in the hand. He sticks around and I'm hoping a possible flush draw hits. It is a harmless 2 and I'm surprised to see him bet US$10 - almost pot. I know he has a big hand. JJ and QQ beat me but surely I would have faced a raise pre-flop. AJ, 55, J5, 22 or overplaying a high pair or AQ unlikely but possible. I put him all in for my last 10 and he called and shows 55 before leaving broke.
I play on for another hour or so and add another 8$ to my stack. Having dropped 2$ misplaying AJ at party earlier and finish the day +US$35.
Moocher returns from Dubai with an itchy mouse finger. Normally looser than a wizard's sleeve at the best of times his craving for action means he starts to see any two cards as playable. He hits a bad run. Cumulative losses not tallied as yet but looks like last week's profit may have a sizeable bite missing from it.
Playing loose does at least mean you get paid off on your big hands and Moocher's pocket kings see a perfect flop as two more arrive to quad him up. Loosey goosey opponent puts him all in there and then with a low pair. Lolz donkaments.
I'd previously deposited US$150 in Paradise Poker but had lost US$35 and with Poker Office not working on the site I'd decided Party even without bonii would be more profitable. I sparked up a 25NL table (5 handed). I thought I'd try it out with Poker Tracker. I was making little progress with getting Poker Tracker to work and was US$8 down and considering leaving then I caught a hand. Raised QJ on the button up to $1. Two callers. I was being floated a lot so rather than checking and waiting for someone to catch up I bet out and sure enough get a caller. Turn was a 5. I bet half pot hoping to keep him in the hand. He sticks around and I'm hoping a possible flush draw hits. It is a harmless 2 and I'm surprised to see him bet US$10 - almost pot. I know he has a big hand. JJ and QQ beat me but surely I would have faced a raise pre-flop. AJ, 55, J5, 22 or overplaying a high pair or AQ unlikely but possible. I put him all in for my last 10 and he called and shows 55 before leaving broke.
I play on for another hour or so and add another 8$ to my stack. Having dropped 2$ misplaying AJ at party earlier and finish the day +US$35.
Moocher returns from Dubai with an itchy mouse finger. Normally looser than a wizard's sleeve at the best of times his craving for action means he starts to see any two cards as playable. He hits a bad run. Cumulative losses not tallied as yet but looks like last week's profit may have a sizeable bite missing from it.
Playing loose does at least mean you get paid off on your big hands and Moocher's pocket kings see a perfect flop as two more arrive to quad him up. Loosey goosey opponent puts him all in there and then with a low pair. Lolz donkaments.
Monday, 14 May 2007
Rollin' rollin' rollin'
Deadly checks in to confirm he has been on poker holiday so his winnings restricted to his pre-departure winning session. Moocher returns from Dubai so may have some activity to report.
I chalk up a beer and champagne fueled junk trip on Saturday and a run to the Yau Yee league sixes semi-finals under a toasting sun on Sunday which leaves time for less than two hours at the virtual tables. I play a 25NL and a 10NL concurrently and move another US$12 in the right direction.
Bigshot returns from Singapore where its all been ML and not so much NL. He declines to answer questions of unaccounted for play so it's another no-change week for him and his busy schedule looks set to continue.
So the roll-call looks as follows.
1) Deadly US$1126 (+35) (+101) (-110) (+257) (+134) (+6) (+117)
2) Phillberto US$700 (+76)(+90) (+50) (+106) (+23) (+133) (+306) *
3) Moocher666 US$645 (no change)(+78) (+4) *
4) Bigshotbog US$270 (no change)(no change) (no change) (-150)(no change) (+10) (-264)
*Moocher owes US$455 to phillberto.
I've also made some retrospective changes on last week's bankroll so the US$55 transfer to moocher shows up on the total bakroll but not on the weekly +/- figure.
I chalk up a beer and champagne fueled junk trip on Saturday and a run to the Yau Yee league sixes semi-finals under a toasting sun on Sunday which leaves time for less than two hours at the virtual tables. I play a 25NL and a 10NL concurrently and move another US$12 in the right direction.
Bigshot returns from Singapore where its all been ML and not so much NL. He declines to answer questions of unaccounted for play so it's another no-change week for him and his busy schedule looks set to continue.
So the roll-call looks as follows.
1) Deadly US$1126 (+35) (+101) (-110) (+257) (+134) (+6) (+117)
2) Phillberto US$700 (+76)(+90) (+50) (+106) (+23) (+133) (+306) *
3) Moocher666 US$645 (no change)(+78) (+4) *
4) Bigshotbog US$270 (no change)(no change) (no change) (-150)(no change) (+10) (-264)
*Moocher owes US$455 to phillberto.
I've also made some retrospective changes on last week's bankroll so the US$55 transfer to moocher shows up on the total bakroll but not on the weekly +/- figure.
Friday, 11 May 2007
Steady Course
Variance seems to be letting me off lightly at the moment. Another winning session last night. Played one 25NL table for an hour and a half. It was at a pretty passive table and I wasn't really put to any tough decisions. Value betted when I could and ended up calling it a night at US$18 up. That brings my stats to over 10PTBB/100 which is where I want to be. With a junk trip, BBQ and football tournament to fit in this weekend I won't be able to rack up much playing time. If I find myself at another passive 25NL though I'm planning to open up a second table and hopefully double my hourly win-rate.
I'd previously opened up my game at 10NL so had been playing semi-loose aggressive for the past couple of thousand hands which was paying off. Now playing 6-max I've maintained similar stats which should work pretty well for short handed tables.
About time I was given a reload bonus though. Ladbrokes and Party Poker are both due one.
I'd previously opened up my game at 10NL so had been playing semi-loose aggressive for the past couple of thousand hands which was paying off. Now playing 6-max I've maintained similar stats which should work pretty well for short handed tables.
About time I was given a reload bonus though. Ladbrokes and Party Poker are both due one.
Thursday, 10 May 2007
Stepping Up
Managed a 20 minute stint 10NL at lunchtime and managed to retrieve yesterday's small losses on 25NL. The evening saw me try a 25NL party table again. I found myself facing a lot more all-ins though not as many pre-flop re-raises. At 10NL the all-ins tend to be pre-flop or with the nuts but these all-ins were taking down reasonable pots.
Came up against one short stack a few times. He bets so I reraise with Jacks. He calls and a King shows on the flop. I decide we are both pot committed so check, thinking that is more likely to entice a bluff if I do as I will call any bet. He indeed goes all in, I call, and my jacks are good. We clash again shortly after and I again have a (smaller) pocket pair with one overcard. He goes all-in and I this time I decide to fold. Third time I raise AKs he calls, I raise and he again goes all-in. My flush hits and I felt him again. Shame he is buying in for the minimum only. I lose a few pots once again to an aggressive player to my left whose all-ins on the turn take a couple of pots where I have to lay-down marginal hands.
Another short stack shows a penchant for going all-in. He manages to double up despite having Q10 and now commands a medium stack. I raise with AA and he puts me all-in pre-flop. Thank you kind donator. He mucks without showing and disappears.
I finish for the night $30 up at 25NL added to theUS$8 made earlier at 10NL.
Still a tiny sample size but at 6PTBB/100 I'm content with my start. I've certainly misplayed a few hands and feel I am stretching my game a bit more facing a bit more of a challenge. I am earning less than I would at 10NL but feel the time is right to step-up. If I can maintain over 10PTBB/100 over 10,000 hands I reckon I'll be very confident in stepping up once again to the 50NL tables. I'll also begin to think of multi-tabling if I can continue with a winning rate.
Came up against one short stack a few times. He bets so I reraise with Jacks. He calls and a King shows on the flop. I decide we are both pot committed so check, thinking that is more likely to entice a bluff if I do as I will call any bet. He indeed goes all in, I call, and my jacks are good. We clash again shortly after and I again have a (smaller) pocket pair with one overcard. He goes all-in and I this time I decide to fold. Third time I raise AKs he calls, I raise and he again goes all-in. My flush hits and I felt him again. Shame he is buying in for the minimum only. I lose a few pots once again to an aggressive player to my left whose all-ins on the turn take a couple of pots where I have to lay-down marginal hands.
Another short stack shows a penchant for going all-in. He manages to double up despite having Q10 and now commands a medium stack. I raise with AA and he puts me all-in pre-flop. Thank you kind donator. He mucks without showing and disappears.
I finish for the night $30 up at 25NL added to theUS$8 made earlier at 10NL.
Still a tiny sample size but at 6PTBB/100 I'm content with my start. I've certainly misplayed a few hands and feel I am stretching my game a bit more facing a bit more of a challenge. I am earning less than I would at 10NL but feel the time is right to step-up. If I can maintain over 10PTBB/100 over 10,000 hands I reckon I'll be very confident in stepping up once again to the 50NL tables. I'll also begin to think of multi-tabling if I can continue with a winning rate.
Wednesday, 9 May 2007
PA HUD
This is an overlay that takes information from Poker Tracker to provide real time information on game play. Up until now I've been using Gametime+ which is free. I'm using the PA HUD trial version at the moment which is restricted to use on one table and so far I don't have it set up to give me any more information than I already get although it can do a lot more. It does seem to be the choice of the pros though and I like the idea of having a lot more information about cold calling stats and what they do after a pre-flop raise.
I'm looking into a way of getting it for free. I've found a site www.internettexasholdem.com which gives you three gifts of choice in addition to the standard bonii most of the sites offer. Gifts include a decent selection of books and PA HUD. Nice.
I'm looking into a way of getting it for free. I've found a site www.internettexasholdem.com which gives you three gifts of choice in addition to the standard bonii most of the sites offer. Gifts include a decent selection of books and PA HUD. Nice.
All by myself.
With everyone in foreign climes I have finally decided it is time to step up a level. Checked my stats for the last 3,000 hands at 10NL and at 28 Poker Tracker Big Bets per 100 hands(28PTBB/100) I feel confident that I have this level thoroughly beat. With a big bet(BB) = 2 x the big blinds that works out at a winning rate of US$5.6 for every 100 hands I play and with me three tabling I'm pretty close to 200 hands an hour. Better than the pay for frying burgers. Just.
At the table I sit down at the guy on my left in particular is pretty aggressive. I start off with a run of good but not great cards and end up with a raising % of 28. I think he picks up on this and starts 3 betting me liberally in position. He catches me three times without cards I can play back with and then another opponent does the same. US$4 down. When I do catch any hands that could stand a 3-bet I take down the pot unchallenged. With a short stack to my left I make a standard raise on the button with 66. Flop 854 rainbow. He checks I bet 3/4 pot and he check raises all-in which is less than pot. I call but thinking I'm likely behind or in at best a race and he indeed shows an 8 to take the pot. Not great best sizing by me and not a good start
I also come up against a lot of my raises being called followed up with 1/3 size pot bets on the flop working on the principle I miss most flops. I give up on a few I miss initially but then when a particularly unscary board shows after raising KJs on the button I opt to fire a second bullet on the turn. It is again called but I hit my jack on the river. He checks and I think about raising but just check behind. The river jack meant he hit 2 pairs with J6. Not sure if I would have faced a check raise or not. If he is calling raises with J6o out of position though. I'll make my money back.
I've been continuation betting 90%+ of flops at 10NL. Maybe this is one thing I need to think about looking at when stepping up levels. Seems I will meet a higher percentages of floaters so I need to pay attention to flop texture, sometimes check behind and be willing to double-barrel on occasion.
Anyway I decided to find an easier table and cut my losses. At the new table I lay AA down early to someone who is playing their first hand on the table who calls my pre-flop raise and flop continuation bet and then bets aggressively on the turn with no draws on the board. I'm worried he has hit trips and won't slow down on the river so reluctantly fold. Feel I may have been weak tight here so I'll try and post this hand later for comment.
Now I am US$23 down but keep buying in to the max buy-in. Gradually I begin to dominate the table and end up playing with a bunch of guys playing with 10-12$ stacks. I now feel I am outplaying them and my stack climbs to US$40+ and my opponents gradually disappear leaving me as the only person left on the table.
I end up US$7 down on the night. I'm pretty confident I will beat this level but will start to meet some decent players in amongst the usual medley of donkeys and fish. Key lesson today has to be table selection. Need to work out if I can pull stats from a few tables before I sit down.
At the table I sit down at the guy on my left in particular is pretty aggressive. I start off with a run of good but not great cards and end up with a raising % of 28. I think he picks up on this and starts 3 betting me liberally in position. He catches me three times without cards I can play back with and then another opponent does the same. US$4 down. When I do catch any hands that could stand a 3-bet I take down the pot unchallenged. With a short stack to my left I make a standard raise on the button with 66. Flop 854 rainbow. He checks I bet 3/4 pot and he check raises all-in which is less than pot. I call but thinking I'm likely behind or in at best a race and he indeed shows an 8 to take the pot. Not great best sizing by me and not a good start
I also come up against a lot of my raises being called followed up with 1/3 size pot bets on the flop working on the principle I miss most flops. I give up on a few I miss initially but then when a particularly unscary board shows after raising KJs on the button I opt to fire a second bullet on the turn. It is again called but I hit my jack on the river. He checks and I think about raising but just check behind. The river jack meant he hit 2 pairs with J6. Not sure if I would have faced a check raise or not. If he is calling raises with J6o out of position though. I'll make my money back.
I've been continuation betting 90%+ of flops at 10NL. Maybe this is one thing I need to think about looking at when stepping up levels. Seems I will meet a higher percentages of floaters so I need to pay attention to flop texture, sometimes check behind and be willing to double-barrel on occasion.
Anyway I decided to find an easier table and cut my losses. At the new table I lay AA down early to someone who is playing their first hand on the table who calls my pre-flop raise and flop continuation bet and then bets aggressively on the turn with no draws on the board. I'm worried he has hit trips and won't slow down on the river so reluctantly fold. Feel I may have been weak tight here so I'll try and post this hand later for comment.
Now I am US$23 down but keep buying in to the max buy-in. Gradually I begin to dominate the table and end up playing with a bunch of guys playing with 10-12$ stacks. I now feel I am outplaying them and my stack climbs to US$40+ and my opponents gradually disappear leaving me as the only person left on the table.
I end up US$7 down on the night. I'm pretty confident I will beat this level but will start to meet some decent players in amongst the usual medley of donkeys and fish. Key lesson today has to be table selection. Need to work out if I can pull stats from a few tables before I sit down.
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