absolutely sick, thats how i feel. I went out 28th in the 20k gauranteed, and 35th in the 50k. The button, who has been nicking every time its folded round to him, raises again. I have a stack, and go all-in ott with A9o. He think about it (we are playin g for a 15k 1st prize remember) and then calls 1/3 of his stack with.....the monster that is A7. Que q 9 on the flop for me, and runner runner 7 for him to end my tournament. Absolutely gutted. Feel really low. Bollox!!!!

Sickening, i just properly bubbled in the Tribeca 20k. 28th out of 545 players. Balls. Still at the time of writing this im 3rd in the 50 gauranteed. 1st plays 15k so ffs im getting a result this time.

Sickening, i just properly bubbled in the Tribeca 20k. 28th out of 545 players. Balls. Still at the time of writing this im 3rd in the 50 gauranteed. 1st plays 15k so ffs im getting a result this time.

Playing well, enjoying my poker, but still havent had a real result in MTT's. SnG progress is going really swimmingly, but my live form continues to be poor.
Played a £25 super satellite for a £750 tournie happening in August yesterday eve. Worked my starting stack up from 1k to 6.5k with relative ease, mainly by flopping big one, and tripling up versus 2 flush draws also. Then i donked off 1.5k with KQo after 3 limpers and a continuation bet.
Ended the rebuy period with 5.8k.
Then this hand which was the very 1st time i could have pulled a squeeze play and am mightily pissed off i didnt. Early position raise from a medium stack who is pretty good, folds around to Mr Rock who flat calls. There is now 200+400 + 1000 + 1000= 2600. I look down at AQs. I have 5k, ep raiser has 3k left and Button has me just covered. I should have pulled the trigger, but just couldnt. Flat called, missed, damn. 2 hands later i get AKs UTG. I raise to 2000 commiting myself to the pot. BB ,Simon, an ultra-rock, intsa all-in's and i have a decision. Im not beating any of his holdings. I know this. He has AA,KK,QQ or AK. Most likely AA or KK. Arghh.... my heart and gut tell me im beat but my brain says ur getting 2-1 and you will be short stacked if you fold. What would you do, and why? I called after i couldnt put him on Aces or AK and went purely for pot odds. He has Aces, goodnight alex.

Cant believe i got outrocked. I shoulda chosen paper.......

Go check out the grinders blog btw, the guy has just had his 1st year of poker playing anniversary. I want to be there. I will be someday.

Superb. Had another cracking day obliterating the SnG's on VC. Played 23. Is that too many? I think so. But what the fuk i also went to my bro's 18th b-day meal and had a cracking sunday roast. A magnificent weekend. Back up to $500, $300 in a day and i moved slowly through the $5 and $10 SnG's. Made some new plays. I really like overbetting the pot with the absolute nuts when the opponent is a) chipped up, b) a calling station doubter. Its awesome when you double up and they are drawing dead.

The most important factor in these SnG's now is doubling through in that 1st big pot situation you get imo. After that you have "bad beat insurance" and can get outdrawn but still survive. After that you jsut use good short stack strategy and get back up. Or you bust and load up another. LOL.

Not playing tomorrow, i have footy and i want to bet fresh for tuesday night.

gl all. If you havent read it this is a cracking read that will take you hours to fully absorb.http://zbasic.com/pokerblog.html

Back in the groove. Had a thoroughly enjoyable day yesterday. Woke up with a mild hangover, which seems to always stimulate my play and produce my A-game. The artist and me played 2 SnG's in the morning. Its strange but playing with another player allows you the time to discuss hands, optimal strategy and decreases the chance of poor decision making as you have to convince another player that your decision is optimal. We won it and then departed to Luton where i won a £30 SnG (chopped most lol) after arriving late for the 3pm £10 rebuy doh. Played the £20 later and gor rivered by a 2 outer :(
Soon, soon the wins will come.

Playing online at the moment, AND STICKING TO MY RULES OF BANKROLL MANAGEMENT!!

At the moment im really working on my HU game. It recently dawned on me that over the course of a lifetime the amount of money that you make in tournament poker depends heavily on your ability to come 1st, not second. Think i made an error in chopping that SnG, i aint a great player, but sheer volume of hands gives you a huge edge when it comes to playing the older generations who just havent the experience that a lot of these 20-somethings have. Its been a real eye-opener of late to watch how poorly so many people play poker. Thanks christ that these players (and many new recruits) are joining in with the current poker scene. A while ago i worried that all the fish would go bust. This hasnt and never looks like it will happen. What we could really benefit from is a female WSOP winner. We need as much dead money as possible and with one or two exceptions all the women i have ever player poker with are useless.

Reallt feel like im back on top now. These advert were recently banned in the US for being too risque. Freaking hilarious though, esp the Phil Ivey one. http://www.fulltiltpoker.com/best-poker-faces-in-the-world.php


We won it

Been thinking of the comeback format. I will be working with the obligatory 30* the buy-in and starting at the $5 level. I am hoping that this should help me to focus not on the stakes and the payouts but on WINNING SnG's. I also dont trust myself with anything else and want to prove i can do it. No MTT's or cash games.

I will deposit $150 and play $5 SnG's until i reach $300, then play $10, get to $450, then play $15 etc. Going to trymy best to play perfect poker (iv had good games before but never had the "perfect session"). I am actually incredibly nervous and will probably start again on Saturday- at the moment im just going over all the literature i own, making a ply book etc. If i get the chance ill give some of my thoughts on how to play AQ and AJs in middle and late position later. I just think it would be fun to write my thinking down on here and see if anyone disagrees with me.

Im printing off a poker diary as we speak. Ill be keeping meticulous score from now on and hopefully ill be able to show a big profit this time next year. If i go bust again online, im quitting internet poker for good.

IM GETTING KIND OF TIRED OF SAYING THIS. It seems like 1 step forward, 2 steps back at the moment. I am incapabel of good bankroll management. I just had quite a good preiod prior to this, but a few suckouts, some poor poker and playing in games too big for me has totally destroyed my bankroll on all Tribeca accounts. I still had some money in UB and william hill and decided to withdraw it all (all $160 of it) before i did the rest. Cant believe iv done it again. This is the biggest obstacle to my online game by a mile. Im having an online break and going back to square 1, again. Im going to go and buy a poker diary (a paper, tangible one- not some shit website that i cant be arsed with doing). Im going to not play online for a while until i get this and i want to organise my poker "play book" which is Tipodds and sods collection of my thouhts. Also, might be getting a comp upgrade, does anyone know if VC/UB will send me my player notes or are they stored online?
Really mean it this time. Going to log everything, going to play within my bankroll and going to be patient and STICK TO MY OBJECTIVES. I maen for crying out loud, im a winning poker player, had played online properly for over 4 years now and im still not minted. I should be playing 10-20NL cash by no ffs. This time. Im really going to work damn hard and do it. I think this is the 4th time iv said this, i feel very stupid.
Tip of the day- no tip. Its a bad day.

Finally got there, i played 2 tournaments last night. Bubbled the final table in 1 and bubbled the money in the other, BUT i played as perfect a game as i am capable of playing for well over 4 1/2 hours in each. Really feeling good about my poker as the moment, bankroll has bounced back (although not the right way i might add, i was playing in SnG's too big for my bankroll). When i really focus on the table and specifically what i want my bet to achieve i am getting incredible results. I have 2 new plays that (some of) you may want to try out. The 1st is re-raising the raiser for nearly all his chips when you are very close to the final table. Try this when you have a big stack and nearly any 2 cards will do if he is a medium and there are a few shorties around. If the final table has REAL prize money, he folds huge cards here if you have bracketed him a weak/tigth player. IT REALLY WORKS. Obv be sensible about the other ppl stil in the pot, best done when you are the only onther in the pot in the BB.
On another note, i have a new anacronym, CLDS. All chip leaders turn into donkeys after a while. Raise their BB from the backside all-in with A10 or above and you'll be suprised how often they call with Arag.
Had a fun time last night. Played my a-game in 5 tournies and won 2 SnG's, got a kinda bad beat (9 outer) in another to end up 4th and second in another. Came 10/177 in a freezeout and 39th in a rebuy comp out of 350 or so. Just need those Aces to hold up for once.

While all the UK high rollers are away having the times of their lives in Vegas, some of us who are still learning the ropes are competing in the sombre surroundings of the Luton Grosvenor. Sad, but hey, Willie Tan, Kalit, JP Kelly and some other v.good players learnt their trade there so why shouldnt I. Ran ok in the £10 no limit till i got kinda fucked. You know sometimes when that 40-something regular limps UTG that he has a hand, but you somehow cinvince yourself that you AQs is very good.....when it aint.
Played 2 hands in the £20 re-buy, winning 1 and trebling up and losing the other, 99 all-in preflop (PL but near enough ai) and losing to a player who had AJ. Beginning to think i have a negative EV in these tournaments. Its not that im a bad player, its just that other people seem luckier/more skilled (delete as apropriate). The people who always final table these things play ABC and get paid. Annoys the fuck out of me that i actually pay them off. Going to completely change me tactics in these things, maybe. I was told about a certain Steve Templeman at the game today. A ton of rebuys, he prolly invested £100 and then he hits a runner runner flush and has a stack of 10k. Now 1st prize is only £900 but i reckon he will prolly Podium. Is that what im doing wrong? Should i be gambling more? Who knows, for sure it aint me.

Bah, not sure what happened tonight. Starting working balance was $480. After a rollercoaster ride im now at a measly $140. Not sure quite how i dropped it, but paying 3* $50 SnG's and 1 $100 SnG was probably the main culprit. Sometimes when im killing the $25's (which i wasnt even doing well in tonight) i think fukit ill try a shot at a higher game. In the $100 i actually had the chip lead when there were only 4 of us left, 5700 against 4k,5k and a shortie. Of coure i tried 1 too many moves believing my opponent ws capable of making a tight lay down when a scary turn came 10s on a board of 8s9sAd....but i guess thats kinda hard with AA in the hole for top set.
Really annoyed at myself and going to have to do it all again!!! FFS!!!

Hope i can produce some results tomorrow at luton.

Im ready.

Finished work at 3.30pm, ah the joys of a lenient boss. Went to the gym, smashed up some free weights for 1 hour and went for a long jacuzzi, sauna. Came home, had a seitsa (which really suits me) and then tucked into a wonderful meal prepared by one of the 2 great women in my life. Alcohol ban is going well...i always seem to behave like a grade a twat when pissed. Poker performances are a little lacklustre this week. Played over $200 in MTT fee's last night without a cash. After eating this fine curry i am ready, for some serious yank bashing.

Playing a full day of poker at Luton tomorrow. The £10 rebuy and then the £20 rebuy. A result is seriously overdue. Will play a few sng's if i dont go deep in the £10. Turnout should be HUGE.
The artist will be accompanying me and seems to have developed a more cautious attitude to chip stack management, it would be nice for him to final table or even win- he's good enough and aggressive ehough at the right moments for this to be possible. Should be fun, not the WSOP but then i dont spend 10 hours a day infront of a computer screen, so the internet players that are out there probably deserve their break.

Contrary to popular opinion im mighty impressed with Zidane's hb. Overcoming restraint isnt always a good thing and by the sounds of it i think id have done the same. Just a shame he didnt break the little spic's nose instead.



Alex

:(

All the Vegas talk is doing my nut in. Really am going to make a concerted effort to reach the WSOP by 2008.
In the online tournies iv been running bad. On the bubble hos this for a randomly shite tribeca play. I get AA in EP and elect to raise 3*BB (the limp at this stage just screams aces from someone like myself) and all fold apart from the SB who calls. Im pot commited now as i am only holding back 2/3 of my original stack and i dont fold these puppies to any sort of ugly flop in a 2 way pot here. Flop comes 5Q5 with 2 spades and i have A spades. He checks, i raise 2/3 of my remaining stack and he pushes. I think oh no QQ but i call and am duly shown the Q8, which he spikes on the river. Some twat gives me the rub-down with "you should have raised more preflop". ;)

Played at Luotn on Tuesday. Came a miserable 10th. 120 odd players and 10-18th place win £30. How dumb. Obv when 1st is £1600 im prepared to take a few risks. I tread water for ages, getting the tighter players to fold their big blinds when i can act 1st. I am shown AJs, A10s and pocket 7's. Blinds escalate rapidly and i have 10k with blinds at 800/1600. Shortie tries some shit on me with 45 and i cll with A2. He hits a house on the flop, now im a shortie. I win a few decent pots after. Get into the money and elect to play to win and amass chips now while the scared money is still here. I steal my way up to about 16k. I then find AK in the BB. UTG limps (shit!) but i think fukit i cant lay this down and just move in (or near enough, its PL).....to which he calls with A4d. I hold and have about 40k. Average is 30k. I then get pocket sixes and raise again (blinds at 4k/2k). I get re-raised and have to give up and am shown KK for my whining efforts. I now have 18k. Then this hand. Folded to me on the button, i get QJs. I raise here, the full pot. The SB calls. O bollox i think. Flop comes 468 with 2 spades. He puts me all-in (for like 6k more...and i have to call). He has J8s. Now please tell me why you would cal for 1/3 of your stack with that garbage. This player is the borther of a well-known and solid player, Lalit. His brother has charm, charisma and plays excellent poker. His brother has none of these attributes.
I wouldnt have minded a random call, BUT this twat was whining about an earlier hand where a player called his raise with A4d and sucked out on his AK. Dont give lessons when you yourself dont have a freaking clue. Most frustrating as i am getting close consistently but always suffer some sort of bad beat. Ah well, i feel good about my game and am confident that a rush of final tables awaints me.

Online action. Played a little cash today. Was lucky neough to flop set over set and get paid and also pick off a huge bluff. In 55 mins i made $144. If i can keep that hourly rate up i might be rich 1 day.........if i dont go broke playing live.....

gl all.

Tip of the day. Never underestimate your opponents, but equally never overestimate. There are some players out there who will always lose at this game. Keep studying, practicing and working hard to fix fatal flaws......in the long run, they will pay for your kids education.

Arggh! this game is frustrating as hell sometimes.
Got to last 50 in a biggish tournie $24 buy-in 200 runners. Starting chips are 2000 and i get up to 6k by the skin of my teeth, absolutely no cards. I win 2 coinflips and get fairly healthy and up to 10k when this hand. I get AA in late position. Infront of me is a raise to 5000 then a reraise to 12000. I call and to my suprise the usual suspects (KK,AK) are not present. Instead im up againt the monsters of KJ and JJ. Case J on the flop would be inevitable. Really hurt as im pretty sure i would have had an excellent chance of winning it given the standard of play at my table which had more action than a film with Steven Seagal illicit lovechild.

New poker terminology.....Longing, to long, got longed.

The term is used in tournament play and used to describe the practice of taking the maximum amount of time to make decisions in an effort to allow the blinds to increase and create more pressure on the short stacks. The technique is also applicable to modern life. When the girlfreind asks how long you'll be at the pub and you reply, "not sure...as long as the pool game takes to complete" you are longing, allowing extra time for yourself and putting pressure on her.

Just got outplayed HU in a $25 SnG. 1st time thats happened today, i have trouble changing gears and really need to work on it. Ah well, thats it for tonight. Tomorrow i might be playing a satellite for the UK open. I feel its about time i tried to have a stab at these deepstacked live events, i am surely +EV against the old school rocks that inhabit the Luton hovel.

Long time no posts. Just got back from a cracking holiday with the missus and been watching a lot of world cuppage (cant seem to say anything now without adding "age" to the end), quite disconcerting.

On the poker front its been all hands to the pumps online. Had a cracking week prior to the holiday ripping apart the $25 SnG's with real ease. This game is so strange in that when you are playing well, you get ur chips in with the best of it all the time, make great reads and your hands hold up.........you develop a sense of invincibility at the tables. I know what its like at the other end of the emotional spectrum also so ill enjoy this while it lasts.

Results. Had 2 major (for me) online MTT cashes lately for a combined profit of a little over $3k.

Bubbled on 2 consecutive nights in the 20k on VC (WHY CANT I FINAL TABLE THIS ANYMORE) and had a cruel exit to the 100k gauranteed. Hows this for bad luck.

Deep into the tournament (130 out of 850 players left) i have a medium stack. In an unraised pot i limp with 88 on the button along with 1 other LP player. SB completes. Flop comes 89Q with 2 spades. Initial player raises 1/2 pot, second player flat calls. I move all-in. Original raiser re-raises all-in and is insta called by LP player who is unfortunately holding 10jspades for the nut straight with improvements to the straight flush which he duly hit on the turn. He was the CL at the table and i had mayeb twice the average chip stack. To rub salt in the wound the other guy had me beat aswell with 99. :(

Bankroll management has improved id like to say. I just do a simple move than $500 withdraw policy which seems to be working.

Live play has been mixed lately. Had a fun session with the artist on Friday where i won 5 out of the 6 games !!!!!!! I even outdrew him in a shocking bad beat.......really enjoyed that ;)

Luton my form has deserted me. I got chips, got down to the final 5 tables and than tried to make a semi-move with AKs v an EP raiser who couldnt call with JJ fast enough. In the £30 SnG's my form was equally dire.

Read sherwoodpoker.blogspot.com

Really interesting account on how even legends like TJ can get addicted and end up nipping. Sad.

Work and life is preety good at the moment. Not drinking alcohol for 2 months in an effort to get fit again. Suprising how sharp it makes you feel.

VVVV jealous of all those at the WSOP. Going to try real bankroll management and operating within my limits against opposition i can beat until i am debt free. My aim is to get out there next year without fail.

Here's a little cracker for you. Playing at the Luton Grosvenor the other night there was a change of dealer's. Nina summoned Simon to replace her as she was tired to which Simon replied "Nina,Nina, always a pleasure, never a chore now get out the way you sillly" to serious laughter.

Tip of the Day. Thou shalt only slow play top trips on a raggy board wiht NO draws on the board or a rolled up full house on a paired board. ALL other hands are vulnerable and should be bet. Dont whine to me when the guy makes a house against ur nut flush and you lose all ur money, you heard it here.

gl all.