Well I had intended to take a week off but forgot about the GCSOP on crypto so when I turned on sunpoker at 7.50 Tuesday and saw a $215 freezout with 4500 starting stack and a $50,000 guarantee I couldn't resist. There was approx 270 runners and with 31left (30 paid) I pushed my average stacked SB A10 into AK. This left me with 2.5 BBs which I push JJ into Q5; Q on turn to finish 30th.
I thought there would be more play in these but the structure means total crapshoot anyway deep but there's a lot of dead money so decided to play the rest of them for the week. So last night I get my stack in second hand on the turn holding KK v 66 the board showing 2335; 4 on the river.
Played tonight's $50k and somehow had the chiplead with 20 players remaining without seeing a hand better then JJ all tourney. With 16k for winning it was very disappointing to go out in 11th. These are so crapshooty there is no way of bullying with the blinds so big two or three tables out. As there is no change in the money, everyone is looking for a spot to gamble; you just gotta hit cards and win your showdowns to take it home. After taking a few hits I finally went out AK v Q10.
There's three of these left in the series but I'll be beering Friday so that leaves the $150,000 guarantee on Saturday which is a $500 buy in and Sundays $£1000 buy in $250000 guarantee. I'll probably play both; its about time I had a big win in a online tournament so either will do.
Friday, September 14, 2007
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
embarrassing stats
Ive done ok in stts in the past but haven't really played them over the last 4/5 months. Tried a few on stars over the last few weeks ( the account is old and would of been mainly used by my dad over the last 18 months- he was probably break even over 160/180 small stakes stts). I'd say I played 20 or so $100/200 over the last two weeks and must of bubbled 10 of them, ran really shit in the ones i played.
The result of this is pretty shocking sharkscope stats yep the dreaded goldfish is jumping. Now I really haven't the heart to rectify it ATM ( and TBH I not sure if i can beat this level on stars, I'd have to play at least 1000 or so to get an idea if I could ) so took the easy option of removing the embarrassing stats. Guess this says a lot about vanity but wtf i confess
The result of this is pretty shocking sharkscope stats yep the dreaded goldfish is jumping. Now I really haven't the heart to rectify it ATM ( and TBH I not sure if i can beat this level on stars, I'd have to play at least 1000 or so to get an idea if I could ) so took the easy option of removing the embarrassing stats. Guess this says a lot about vanity but wtf i confess
Monday, September 10, 2007
Road Trip
Travelled the Country over the weekend playing the Macau, Jackpot, and GJP monthly games. Didn't put in a showing in any of them but Pat Storan who generally travels to most games with me these days chopped the Dublin and Drogheda games and finished 4th in cork. We usually swap 20% so that put me up on the 3 events and also made a few bob playing cash waiting around for him.
Pat has a great TAG game and is naturally very competitive a combination that makes him very difficult to knock out of a tournament. I can honestly say that he gets to the business end of over 50% of the tournaments he enters and a result in a bigger tournament is just a matter of when not if.
On a personal note I'm taking a little break from poker, just a week or so. I don't seem to have any motivation and the knock on effect of this on my game is that my game seems very stale to me. I'm generally sitting at the table or keyboard without any enthusiasm which leads to just going through the motions and playing without any thought or imagination.
I've been playing the game seriously for two years now and its been my only income for the last 21 months. In that time I've never really taken anytime off so a week away from the tables is long over due.
Pat has a great TAG game and is naturally very competitive a combination that makes him very difficult to knock out of a tournament. I can honestly say that he gets to the business end of over 50% of the tournaments he enters and a result in a bigger tournament is just a matter of when not if.
On a personal note I'm taking a little break from poker, just a week or so. I don't seem to have any motivation and the knock on effect of this on my game is that my game seems very stale to me. I'm generally sitting at the table or keyboard without any enthusiasm which leads to just going through the motions and playing without any thought or imagination.
I've been playing the game seriously for two years now and its been my only income for the last 21 months. In that time I've never really taken anytime off so a week away from the tables is long over due.
Monday, September 3, 2007
A quiet August
well as the heading said I've had a very quiet month. Lost about €1100 live and finished up just over $4000 online. I stated in an earlier post my intentions to start getting into ring games but the motivation is just not there at the moment to play with any intensity.
By intensity I mean playing six+ tables which I just don't want to do right now. So for the time being my online will consist of two and three tabling MTTs, I'm sure this will change when the winter sets but ATM I'm happy just to tap away.
I've had a few stabs at qualifying both live and online for the WSOPE over the last month but never got close. This year the live tournament scene in Ireland is totally dead from early June until October which is in my mind is bad business by the 5/6 major promoters here. Surely it wouldn't be beyond the realms of possibility for all the promoters to get together once a year and come up with a balanced calendar and avoid the ridicules scenario that we have had this year where we had three European ranking events for three consecutive weeks and then 4.5 month's without a decent tournament
By intensity I mean playing six+ tables which I just don't want to do right now. So for the time being my online will consist of two and three tabling MTTs, I'm sure this will change when the winter sets but ATM I'm happy just to tap away.
I've had a few stabs at qualifying both live and online for the WSOPE over the last month but never got close. This year the live tournament scene in Ireland is totally dead from early June until October which is in my mind is bad business by the 5/6 major promoters here. Surely it wouldn't be beyond the realms of possibility for all the promoters to get together once a year and come up with a balanced calendar and avoid the ridicules scenario that we have had this year where we had three European ranking events for three consecutive weeks and then 4.5 month's without a decent tournament
Friday, August 17, 2007
Bankroll on stars sorted
been trying to get a bit of a roll going here for a while and chopped the $25 25k guarantee last night for 5k which gives me something to work off on the site. The tournament itself had 1291 starters so never easy to get through that size of field no matter what the standard.
I hit the chip lead 130 out and kept it until there was seven left when I took a few big hits. Although its only a small tournament two things pleased me. To keep a chip lead for that stretch of a tournament is not easy. To do shows that I was playing good big stack poker, I felt I pulverised the tables I was on from ten tables out. The second thing that I was happy with was over coming momentum stoppers I took two big hits with seven left. Recently I haven't been bouncing back when the chip stack starts to dwindle but here I was very aware of this and consciously focused more rather then letting the hits affect me.
Was unlucky not to go really deep in the 45k guarantee there tonight when I lost a double average pot with 100 of the 1400 starters left with AK v KQ. When the chips went in I thought I was getting a stack to utilise again.
No good in kerry the weekend lost a race with three tables left. The club looks great after the refurbishments and the draught heineken is a great addition. Kerry is always a great spot to get away to for a poker weekend and I strongly recommend anyone who hasn't been to one of Connie's festivals to get down there, I guarantee you'll go back
I hit the chip lead 130 out and kept it until there was seven left when I took a few big hits. Although its only a small tournament two things pleased me. To keep a chip lead for that stretch of a tournament is not easy. To do shows that I was playing good big stack poker, I felt I pulverised the tables I was on from ten tables out. The second thing that I was happy with was over coming momentum stoppers I took two big hits with seven left. Recently I haven't been bouncing back when the chip stack starts to dwindle but here I was very aware of this and consciously focused more rather then letting the hits affect me.
Was unlucky not to go really deep in the 45k guarantee there tonight when I lost a double average pot with 100 of the 1400 starters left with AK v KQ. When the chips went in I thought I was getting a stack to utilise again.
No good in kerry the weekend lost a race with three tables left. The club looks great after the refurbishments and the draught heineken is a great addition. Kerry is always a great spot to get away to for a poker weekend and I strongly recommend anyone who hasn't been to one of Connie's festivals to get down there, I guarantee you'll go back
Thursday, August 9, 2007
A post out of boredom
right I'm at a loose end boards is dead I don't feel like playing and the weather's to bad for golf and oh yeah I gotta stop turning on the racing channels at moments like this. So a good time to start rambling here.
I'm still just messing around online I don't think I've had more then four tables open at one time since the end of may now. This will change soon I have two plans of attack on my mind either I'm going to bang out 2000 £50 sixpacs or I'm going to start playing cash.
If I go at the sixpacs running medium to bad i should net 8500 Stirling over the 2000 games including rakeback which I intend to play around with on cash starting at 2/5 if crypto 2/4 another site. The other option is to just start playing cash. I might just lodge $600 on stars and grind it up from the .50/1. I'd really like to get a decent bankroll going on stars because in reality it the only place to qualify for major events. I also think it might be a good place to learn to beat cash because I guess if you can make it there you can make it anywhere!
In the week since I posted I just played the Macau €200 but ran top two into a flopped straight. Online a tournament I've been playing a lot is the £2,500 gar head hunter on crypto, £20 entry. There's only about £600 to be won in this but the format makes for a great craic. Half the pot goes to your scalp value and when you knock someone out you get 75% of there scalp value and 25% of that value is added to your head. Makes for something different and I think playing such a format can add to a mtt players game. I've won it twice and came third twice in the last two weeks winning saturday for £375 and £220 in heads.
on sunday I came 11th in the betfair $50k for $600 was cruising third in chips with about 15 left but took a big hit and never recovered. I lost a buy in at $5/$10 PLO after the pub monday night having trebled my stack I lost the biggest online cash hand I ever played, I knew where I was when the chips went in but running sixes counterfeited my aces busting plan. I didn't really mind as I bought in with the $1k to gamble and have since ground it back.
The betfair tournament got me thinking about my recent tournament performances. In a five week period from the start of june I had three chances of a big score. The macau €1500 where I had chip lead and finished 12th. That £1000 entry crypto tourney where I came 18th, there was £75 k first prize in that one and the tournament in the Venetian where I came 10th for $6.5 had a $186k first prize. I had average chip with 14 players left in that one.
In general I would expect to have at least on top three finish from three opportunities like that. I always thought of myself as a closer of tournaments and if we throw the irish open into the mix maybe I will have to re-assess my strategy and play a little less aggressive from two tables out in tournaments.
Well that's enough rambling for the time being.
I'm still just messing around online I don't think I've had more then four tables open at one time since the end of may now. This will change soon I have two plans of attack on my mind either I'm going to bang out 2000 £50 sixpacs or I'm going to start playing cash.
If I go at the sixpacs running medium to bad i should net 8500 Stirling over the 2000 games including rakeback which I intend to play around with on cash starting at 2/5 if crypto 2/4 another site. The other option is to just start playing cash. I might just lodge $600 on stars and grind it up from the .50/1. I'd really like to get a decent bankroll going on stars because in reality it the only place to qualify for major events. I also think it might be a good place to learn to beat cash because I guess if you can make it there you can make it anywhere!
In the week since I posted I just played the Macau €200 but ran top two into a flopped straight. Online a tournament I've been playing a lot is the £2,500 gar head hunter on crypto, £20 entry. There's only about £600 to be won in this but the format makes for a great craic. Half the pot goes to your scalp value and when you knock someone out you get 75% of there scalp value and 25% of that value is added to your head. Makes for something different and I think playing such a format can add to a mtt players game. I've won it twice and came third twice in the last two weeks winning saturday for £375 and £220 in heads.
on sunday I came 11th in the betfair $50k for $600 was cruising third in chips with about 15 left but took a big hit and never recovered. I lost a buy in at $5/$10 PLO after the pub monday night having trebled my stack I lost the biggest online cash hand I ever played, I knew where I was when the chips went in but running sixes counterfeited my aces busting plan. I didn't really mind as I bought in with the $1k to gamble and have since ground it back.
The betfair tournament got me thinking about my recent tournament performances. In a five week period from the start of june I had three chances of a big score. The macau €1500 where I had chip lead and finished 12th. That £1000 entry crypto tourney where I came 18th, there was £75 k first prize in that one and the tournament in the Venetian where I came 10th for $6.5 had a $186k first prize. I had average chip with 14 players left in that one.
In general I would expect to have at least on top three finish from three opportunities like that. I always thought of myself as a closer of tournaments and if we throw the irish open into the mix maybe I will have to re-assess my strategy and play a little less aggressive from two tables out in tournaments.
Well that's enough rambling for the time being.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Monthly update
well I said I'd do a monthly update so....... Since I came back from Vegas I'm up about €3000 on live events and running Ok online. I wont be giving detailed P&L type updates but will say how I'm running. Did venture up to Fintans new club in galway last friday for a €300 freeze out but blew my chips with about 20 of the 55 runners left. Smashing club and I'd say it will do very well. Played the JP €250 monthly sunday, I had come third in his previous weeks €150 for €800 but no joy in this one when my KK was no good against A10 all-in pre. This would put me well above the average two tables out and I would of fancied my chances but an A on the turn put paid
Not much happening over the coming month will play the Macau monthly tomorrow and Connies summer festival is on in the cueclub Killarney next weekend. I will be more focased on the piss up rather then the poker but recommend heading down to the kingdom to everyone the craic is always great and Connie is a great host. Apart from those two don't know what I'll play; only been tapping away a little online so going to play a bit more and will have a few stabs at the WOSPE on betfair
Not much happening over the coming month will play the Macau monthly tomorrow and Connies summer festival is on in the cueclub Killarney next weekend. I will be more focased on the piss up rather then the poker but recommend heading down to the kingdom to everyone the craic is always great and Connie is a great host. Apart from those two don't know what I'll play; only been tapping away a little online so going to play a bit more and will have a few stabs at the WOSPE on betfair
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