had a bad run of late. got the bankroll up to nice heights of approximately $600 and moved a small amount to another account to play in ther WSOP babay satellites. Then hit a horrible streak of 4th places. I think its because of 2 main factors. Iv been playing too many games at once (6) and i have have really suffered through variance lately. Suffice to say i am now building again after craxhing to aprox $200. Been playing some fine poker lately and il divulge a few choice new plays a little later. As for the world cup, it looks like we are trotting along just nicely. A result is a result and while we may not look like beating Agrentina any time soon, our defence looks very strong indeed. Apart from Ashley cole. Who looks a bit shit tbh (and thats coming from an Arsenal boy).
With a little luck and some gelling we should have a v.good chance.

Poker. Continuation bets. Thou shalt only continuation bet if you have a hand that misses flop (JJ on board of A78 if there is that all-important A there. Most callers preflop have a medium pp. an A high board is very scary to them.
Hurrah, just made a final table for the 1st tim in ages :).....And my AK hold up against AJ.

Ill turn this into an active account of whats happening ;) 3k gauranteed tournie. $20 rebuy and 65 runners. I just got dealt JJ otb. Loose aggy player in EP raises 6*BB. I think he has a
smaller pp and tbh he is shit so i go all-in. He has AQ! shite!....I WIN!!! get in!!!Quick loook around, im 3rd in chips!!! CL has 135k!! 2 shorties. Im playing TIGHTER THAN A DUCKS.....having said that i just stole the blinds with J8s :)
This lot are going crazy. Down to 6 players. Get in!...only 1100 for 1st but fuck it i would LOVE that.
Just knocked out a shortie!!
Down to 5.
Im on 58K. Rest are 123,23,33 and 68k respectively from me clockwise.I just raised with A10 and got called. Flop came KQ10. I had to fold to an all-n raise from a player who is good. Down to 40k. Looks like this chap to my right is very aggy, lots of MOVES.
down to 4
I get KJ in the SB. Flop comes 10QK. I check-raise all-in when aggy player raises a bit.
This lot are WAY too active for the blind level. A game time. This guy to my right is a little fucker who keeps stealing.
Patience and Discipline. Getting low, they are picking on me :(
Down to 31k. Blinds are 3/6k. Ill go ai with anything in a mo.
Down to 3!!!
Break is on, i am the Shortiest little tiny stack on 28k. They have 217k and 68k. Time to get busy in a moment. Top heavy prize structure means i have to get to work quickly. Im going to focus on the guy with 68k coz i can do some real damage to him. 217 will prolly call with anything. 370 for 3rd, 700 for 2nd. But most importantly, a bit of a result after some really bad luck lately. This must be such a weird read. GL TO ME!!
Short lived, i get A6 otb. I obv go all-in, He insta calls with A8. No help, 3rd place :(

tip of the day: back the Argies this year!!!!









Up to 53k CL has

Quick post while im eating my sausage sarnie before work. Well i say "work" loosely coz im walking up and down a river all day in the sun ;)
Had a very good time of it online lately. Had some really good streaks on the $20/15 SnG's and am playng some of the best poker in my life. My form in the multi's has been dire. I dont know why but i either get sucked out on or i run into a huuuugeee hand late on. Deffo need honing so im going back to the books. Finally run my bankroll up into something workable, was hovering around the $3/5 SnG level for waaaay too long but there we go . Working with $500 which will allow me to start playing the juicy cash games once again.
In terms of the objectives i set myself its going ok. I have been practicing good bankroll mgt and havent got carried away in the multi-s. BUT i havent been keeping score. Its normally because i finish late and really cannot be fucked with logging all my results when i have work the next day.

gl all, over.

Been playing a little this week. Usually after the gym or football and while eating my dinner :)
Dont know why but iv found a rich vein of form lately and had a superb run in the $10/15 SnG's. 5 wins on the trot, followed by a third place and another win. Bankroll management is going well. Played very few multi's lately mainly due to a lack of tournaments that appeal to me. There is the daily 20k gtd and a few gtd Sunday tournies that are really good value. The large prize money on offer tends to attract our aquatic friends in abundance. Been deep a few times but been caught out late on. AQ is a hand that im lately finding impossible to play. Its getting me into really deep trouble all the fricking time. You cant stand a re-raise with it (realistically your up against AK,AA,KK,KK,QQ or sometimes JJ.....but it seems to good a hand to waste. I wont play it in EP anymore. I limp in MP also if there are aggy players behind becasue its such a huge bleeder.

A good tournament if you want to hone your skills is the $25 no-lim on VC at approx 8/9pm weekdays. Standard is very high and it allows you to play "proper" poker where the players are strong. Holding JJ i flopped middle set on a board of AJ4 rainbow. 2 tables away from FT. Up against a very strong Chip leader i thought he put in a standard continuation bet with AK when he bet into me. He bet into me on that board with AA. Jesus. I just couldnt put him on that. Tournie over :(

Im off to sunny Southend this weekend to partake in drinking and football......no i havent had my passport confiscated...its a mate's birthday and there's 18 of us going (how Chav is that?).

Gl all.

Tip of the day. AQ is a chip bleeder. Dont play it unless ur desperate... or a short stack is.

Been playing a little this week. Usually after the gym or football and while eating my dinner :)
Dont know why but iv found a rich vein of form lately and had a superb run in the $10/15 SnG's. 5 wins on the trot, followed by a third place and another win. Bankroll management is going well. Played very few multi's lately mainly due to a lack of tournaments that appeal to me. There is the daily 20k gtd and a few gtd Sunday tournies that are really good value. The large prize money on offer tends to attract our aquatic friends in abundance. Been deep a few times but been caught out late on. AQ is a hand that im lately finding impossible to play. Its getting me into really deep trouble all the fricking time. You cant stand a re-raise with it (realistically your up against AK,AA,KK,KK,QQ or sometimes JJ.....but it seems to good a hand to waste. I wont play it in EP anymore. I limp in MP also if there are aggy players behind becasue its such a huge bleeder.

A good tournament if you want to hone your skills is the $25 no-lim on VC at approx 8/9pm weekdays. Standard is very high and it allows you to play "proper" poker where the players are strong. Holding JJ i flopped middle set on a board of AJ4 rainbow. 2 tables away from FT. Up against a very strong Chip leader i thought he put in a standard continuation bet with AK when he bet into me. He bet into me on that board with AA. Jesus. I just couldnt put him on that. Tournie over :(

Im off to sunny Southend this weekend to partake in drinking and football......no i havent had my passport confiscated...its a mate's birthday and there's 18 of us going (how Chav is that?).

Gl all.

Tip of the day. AQ is a chip bleeder. Dont play it unless ur desperate... or a short stack is.

Absinence failed.

Was sadly ill twice during recent week (prolly coz i didnt let myself fully recover the 1st time)
which meant that i played a little on VC. Had a few marginal results on some low stakes final tables but then the usual happened. I wont bore you with the details. Recently iv been re-reading and revisiting old sites and little bibles of tournament play. A few noteworthy points have jumped out at me in recent weeks. In the early stages of a tournament esp on Tribeca where the stacks are never really deep, it is imperative that you use this time to evaluate your opponents at every stage. This is a valuable use of your time and helps break up the monotony of waiting for a hand. Multi-tabling isnt ever a good idea if you have set your sites on 1st prize as you miss out on the little weaknesses that your opponents reveal. I have gone over hands misplayed and hands poorly played and in soe instances the fact that i didnt break opponenets when i should have has effectively ruined my chances of a big score. When you get that opportunity to cripple another player, you simply MUST take your chance and maximise.
Take these 2 hands for example.
Im in Seat 5 and get dealt A10s. 1 LP limper and the SB folds. Blinds are 100/200 in the summer phase of a tournie. Flop comes AAK. I bet 2/3 pot (dont wanna allow a free broadway card to hit, want someone else to play back at me). Stack sizes between particiapants are similar. He calls. Now i know this player is good, so he must have the case Ace- FOR CERTAIN. SB folds. Turn comes a 6. This doesnt matter i dont think, as im putting him on a AXs where X is a possible str8 card 2-5. I bet again and this time he min raises my raise. I get scared of the house and call. River comes 7s and i check, he bets small, I call. The point is, because we were depp in a tournie, i didnt wanna risk going broke, but here i s a prime opportunity to rip him apart, he had A4s and i shoulda doubled through and gone on to win....instead i come 6th. Which means jack shit.
I really want to work on making the perfect decision from now on.
Another point i want to get across is its often not sensible to play rocky in the 1st few levels. These levels are where the easy chips are available from the weak players who raise with KQs UTG. Where i have real position, i now like to play the mid suited connectors from the last 2, with a re-raise against a weak player preflop (allows you to thin the field and evaluate his hand). When the blinds are still small and i have a few spare chips, this is the best use for them. Id rather use these "spare" chips early to allow weak player to make mistakes agasints me in pots where i have position.
So the new formula in tournaments where the table contains the right mix involves identifying weak players, playing them HU when you can put them on a hand of 2 high cards and having position. Once the loose geese have been shot with the 12 bore, you have gained a few things. You will get paid in those formative early hands where you are striving to build your chips because you have advertised your gambling tendencies. Then you stick it in 5th and go back to trying to outrock the rocks.
But iv noticed something. The big boys that win regualrly dont wait for premium. They gamble early and get chips which enable them to survive later when they can afford to get their AA busted by 66....and they dont lose the plot. Id rather gamble early nowadays on the internet, there are plenty of juicy cash games if i crash out early and it saves me the torment when later on i get my premiums busted by some big-stacked moron who's been running all over the table with shit.

New era nowadays, a lot of Mcevoy, Cloutier etc's advice doesnt apply. In the new poker world where you have a lot of educated 20-somethings vying for top spot, you need chips in the formative hands 40-70 where chips stacks begin to get defined.
Waiting to get aces busted isnt good for morale.

Gl all and lets hope England can finally gel. Either that or shoot eriksson for his ability to take the piss out of us......and still get paid.